Dark Blue Moon
by Bleak Stranger
Summary: SEES faces opposition in the form of a rogue blue-haired Persona user who enjoys antagonising them. And even though they never met before, Akane Arisato has the strangest feeling she's known this guy for a long time. Slight crossover with Persona 2.
1. The Moon has Risen

**Chapter 1 – The Moon has Risen**

* * *

**Disclaimer: **_The only things I claim ownership of are the elements of the story that I make up, such as the narrative and any original characters. The music referred to, the Persona and Megami Tensei series belong to their respective owners._

NOTE: This is my first fanfic on this site and is something of an experiment for me, so I apologise for the slow start. Expect anything to change as I improve my skills, and don't worry about pointing out any grammar or consistency mistakes. I'll most likely spot them whenever I reread each chapter.

* * *

Chaos.

Complete and utter chaos lay before the eyes of Akane Arisato as she surveyed her surroundings.

From what she could tell, she was on the high street of a city. It wasn't one she visited before, but she could tell that it was a once-bustling metropolis with impressive modern architecture and a large population. But right now all she could experience now was chaos. People lay dead in the streets, all of them appeared to be cut apart with blades or riddled by bullets. Some of them appeared to be the city's police force. There were also bodies of people in strange multi-coloured robes and strange circular masks, along with soldiers garbed in black.

Smoke stained the skies an ugly black. Shouts and screams echoed through the air accompanied by the sound of gunfire and the screech of missiles followed by explosions. Fires blazed from burnt-out cars and what appeared to be the remains of four-legged machines with cube-like heads. And the skies above held host to many fearsome planes that dropped paratroopers, vehicles, strange box-like objects and the occasional bomb from their holds. The entire city was a war zone, and Akane was right in the middle of it.

Hyperventilating while scared beyond belief, she looked around for any island of normality in the ocean of blood and carnage. But there was none. This part of the city appeared to be where the fighting was at its thickest. Heading up the road to the left of where she was facing at the start would bring her closer to the fighting, while heading in the other direction would in all probability bring her face-to-face with the rear guard of the invading army. Akane was at a loss as to where she could run to.

Until she heard something tapping on the glass of nearby convenience store.

Whirling around, she saw the silhouette of someone behind the window, which surprisingly remained undamaged despite the battle that took place here recently. She couldn't make out any details of the person knocking, though. The smoke from a nearby burning car was obscuring the light. So she decided to gingerly walk over and around the corpses and wreckage as she went, taking extra care not to get her shoes stained with any more blood on the way there. As she neared the department store, the figure turned and walked away. Akane quickened the pace, hoping to catch up to the person calling her.

Upon entering, she noted that, apart from the trail of red footprints that she left in her wake, the inside of the store was untouched by the recent conflict. Nothing appeared to have been damaged and the lights were still functioning. She also saw the door at the back swinging slowly, her mysterious watcher had exited through there. After wiping off as much blood as she could on the doormat, Akane went to investigate. On the other side was a short corridor leading to a back room, a fire exit and a staircase leading to the upper floors, which reverberated the sound of footsteps. Akane quickly dashed up; eager to find someone who wasn't a bloodied corpse.

There were six flights of stairs leading to the roof. All of them were steep because of the narrow building, which made her curse the architects as she dashed upwards. At the top of the staircase, the door leading to the rooftop was wide open, allowing her to run through unopposed. Though she was at full speed during the ascent, she somehow managed to stop dead in her tracks upon seeing her observer, who was standing on the railings at the edge of the roof.

From what she could tell from the view of the person's back, they appeared to be a boy who was about a foot or so shorter than her. He kept both his hands in the pockets of the green outfit he was wearing, probably a middle school uniform judging from his supposed age. The rising smoke from the street obscured the sun, making it hard to determine anything above the neckline. His hair was long and dark, from what she could tell. He surely must have noticed Akane's entrance, but kept his back to her and didn't turn his head once.

"Your eyes are a lovely cherry-red." The boy said in a nonchalant tone, completely disregarding what happened on the street as if it were an everyday occurrence. "I like cherries, they are my favourite fruit."

"Uh, thanks…?" Akane replied, perturbed by his statement. Clearing her throat, she began the expected inquiry of someone who woke up in a strange place. "What is going on here? Where am I?"

The boy chuckled. "Why, you're in Sumaru City, of course. As for what's going on, I'm not sure. The soldiers in black showed up and are suppressing all resistance. They killed my brethren, and would have killed me if I didn't fight them off."

His words made no sense to Akane. She had heard of Sumaru City before. It was something about an incident that happened a few years ago, where a takeover was staged by an armed group that was defeated by the residents of the city. But how was this boy able to fend off people trained to kill without as much as a scratch? And what about his "brethren", the masked ones? There were too many unknowns for her liking, so she decided to pry for more information.

"Who were your pals? Can they help us?"

"They can, if you join the Masquerade." The boy's tone of voice suddenly became more serious. "Master Joker can grant your wishes. He can make anything you want come true as long as you agree to help us create the Utopia we want. Call him, let him know of your desires and, if you have a wish in your heart, he will grant it. There is nothing beyond his power."

_"Joker?"_ Thought Akane. _"Isn't that the name of a serial killer from back then…?"_

Apparently, this Joker would kill anyone you wish if you call him by dialling your own number on your cell phone. But the way the boy talked about him was as though he were some kind of messiah or a cult leader, not as a deranged killer as people had been informed. These conflicting tales only caused Akane to become even more confused. She was hesitant to say anything. And the boy took that as an opening.

"There is conflict in your heart, Cherry-chan." He said with sad resignation. "You doubt the power of Master Joker? If that is the case, you should not call him lest he reduce you to a mere shadow for having no wish upon your heart. And if you cannot call him…"

He looked over his right shoulder at Akane, and she gasped when she saw the same mask as the ones worn by the robed cultists on his face. A white, circular mask with gold trim and a black circle that connected the eye sockets and a strange stone in the forehead.

"…you cannot join us in our Utopia."

The boy then turned around on his right heel and stepped off the railing, landing gracefully on the roof. He then took his right hand out of his pocket and placed it against the left side of his mask with only the fingertips touching, turning his head to the left while doing so. Once he did that, a strange white aura surrounded him and an even stranger being materialised above. A menacing humanoid creature that stood proud, tall and with an air of dominance.

Akane's legs locked out of fear, her body refused to move as she watched the middle school student in terror. Every neuron in her brain fired at once, commanding her to run, but she remained rooted to the spot. The being held out its outstretched metallic right hand, as if it were issuing a command. Akane's gaze followed its hand to the skies, where she saw a flash of blue erupt from beyond the clouds. Seconds later, a lightning bolt surged downwards. Down towards the intended target, Akane.

Within the next millisecond, the lightning hit. And when it did, she immediately blacked out…

…

…and gentle pop music started playing in her ears.

_"A dream?"_ She thought as she wiped the cold sweat from her brow.

A she regained consciousness, Akane felt gentle swaying rhythm pulling the room she was in to and fro. A slight tug in her gut told her that she was in motion. For a moment she wondered where she was, until a message from the train's speakers reminded her.

"The next stop is Iwatodai. We apologise for the inconvenience caused by the delays…"

_"Oh, right. Iwatodai."_ She mused as she rubbed her eyes, turned her music player off and removed the red headphones from her ears. _"That's right, I'm moving here to go to my next school. Guess I fell asleep on the long trip."_

After wearily making sure that nobody did anything funny to her or stole something while she was asleep, Akane yawned and stood up, walking to the station-side doors in the empty carriage. Her body worked on autopilot as her brain tried to get itself in order. She was too tired to think of anything other than the basics at the moment, so when the glowing blue butterfly flew past the windows, she was suddenly jolted back to reality. Then just as quickly as it appeared, when the lights of the tunnel advertisements dimmed, the butterfly was nowhere to be seen.

Needless to say, she was dumbfounded. First she had a peculiar nightmare and then she saw a neon insect flit past. She was so weirded out that it took her a few seconds to realise that the doors had already opened and the train would depart with her on it if she didn't move fast enough. So after stepping out onto the platform, she tried to bring herself back to ground zero.

_"What time is it?_ She wondered while checking the time on her phone. _"A few seconds from midnight? Rats, I'm super late. I'd better get to the dorm as soon as possible and sort out unpacking my stuff some time tomorro… WHY DID EVERYTHING TURN GREEN!?"_

Akane quickly looked around and was even more startled by finding more changes other than the sudden switch from white light to sickly green. The sudden shut off of all electric devices, the pools of blood seeping through ticket machines and random places like the large clock she was looking at. Plus, it appeared that the usually distant white moon turned a vibrant yellow and grew larger in the sky. And to top it off, in place of the people who were in the station with her a moment ago were large, ominous black coffins with a red aura swirling around the base of each and every one. All in all, she was not impressed by the way things were going lately.

"Oh, come on!" She complained out loud. "Why does this have to happen on today of all days? Isn't visiting my parent's place of death bad enough?"

Her questions were stonewalled by silence.

Sighing heavily, she decided to get to the dorm since there was nothing else she could do. She got the directions to her dorm out of her backpack and studied them. According to the information, the train station was not that far from her dorms, only a couple of blocks away. The thought would have been comforting if it weren't for the sudden change in scenery. But it seemed as though she had no choice but to go on.

With no other options available, she went on her way with recent events playing about in her mind. The nightmare was disturbing, to say the least, the blue butterfly was just plain odd, and the blood, coffins and moonlight were too darn oppressive. But these things were not at the forefront of her mind as she traversed the suddenly morbid streets of Iwatodai.

_"Who was that boy? And why do I feel even more disturbed by him than my surroundings?"_

* * *

Before Akihiko Sanada was one of the weirdest sights he beheld on all his patrols. A young man around his age dressed in a grey turtleneck sweater with black jeans and blue workman's style boots was dancing around to a Michael Jackson song in the middle of Port Island Station, reciting the lyrics in perfect English as though he listened to the track over and over again to get the pronunciations right. He had to admit; it was impressive to hear a Japanese person singing in English that wasn't horribly butchered by their dialect.

The singer in question was a skinny guy with long blue hair that covered most of the right side of his face. He also had two grey headphones on each ear, connected to a music player dangling in front of his chest. His eyes were closed most of the time, though Akihiko suspected that they were open narrowly. If not, then this guy must have some good spatial awareness to jump onto benches and swing from lampposts with his eyes closed.

Smirking admirably at the young man's motor skills, the boxing champion turned around and decided to walk on to the gates of his school, so he could assess the area and report back as soon as he can. Though he secretly wished that he could stay because he enjoyed the boy's singing, it would make things easier for Akihiko if he ended up in a coffin like everyone else. That way, he could complete his patrol and swing back to walk the guy home since it was far too late for someone his age to be out. Besides, he can't afford distractions while dealing with the Shadows on the prowl during the Dark Hour.

Speaking of which, it should strike very soon now. Akihiko pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and watched the seconds as they ticked down to the advent of midnight.

**TICK_…_**

**TICK_…_**

**TICK_…_**

**TICK_…_**

…

His phone died as soon as the hand reached twelve.

Once again, Akihiko marvelled at how the ordinary could change to the extraordinary in the blink of an eye. The hustle and bustle of everyday life was instantly silenced, which then gave way to a serene gloom that resonated throughout the city, possibly the world, for all he knew. It fascinated him while making his blood boil at the same time.

This off-putting hour was the realm of the Shadows, his enemies. Every time the Dark Hour began, he felt as though the Shadows threw down their gauntlet before him. He would take up any challenge they threw at him and then pound them into the ground in response. He would never back down until he was strong enough to overcome any obstacle. The thought of getting more power was thrilling. The idea of never being powerless again was…

The lyrics of Billie Jean interrupted his thoughts.

"What the… He's still singing!?"

Quickly turning around, he confirmed that the blue-haired boy was the only other person not in a coffin. He just kept dancing and singing with his eyes closed, completely oblivious to the fact that his blue boots were stained red from splashing around in a puddle of blood. What's more, Akihiko noticed that he did not share the same symptoms as those who experienced the Dark Hour for the first time. He wasn't struck by memory loss or chilled to the bone with panic, he didn't even seem to notice or care that his music player had stopped working like every other electronic device not tuned to work in the Dark Hour. Not once did the boy break his stride or fumble with his words. It was as though nothing ever happened.

SEES, the after-school club dedicated to investigating the Dark Hour only had three members at the moment. There was only Akihiko, Mitsuru Kirijo, and Yukari Takeba in the team, not counting Chairman Ikutsuki. They were eager to get more members so they can have a better chance of finding out more about the Dark Hour and the Shadows. If he went to their school, and if Akihiko could convince him to join the group then it would be a great help to their efforts. Plus, it would get Mitsuru off his back for a while for not taking things as seriously as she wants him to.

"Hey, you there!" Akihiko called out.

The boy stopped mid-pose, opened his right eye and looked in the direction of the boxer waving at him over. He looked genuinely surprised to see Akihiko, and so he removed his headphones and toggled the power switch on his MP3 player to the "off" setting before casually walking over to the beckoning student with his hands in his pockets.

"Sorry about that." He began. "I didn't expect to see anyone else at this time of night. I thought you would have turned into a coffin like everyone else."

"Yeah, I thought the same of you." Akihiko said. "It's not often that I see someone else walking around the Dark Hour, especially not as lively as that."

The boy shrugged. "Eh, I only got here yesterday. Didn't affect me too badly the first night, though I was surprised to see how different everything became once the clock hit twelve."

"Only yesterday? Man, you must be made of some stern stuff." The red-vested boxer said with some amusement in his voice. "Name's Akihiko Sanada. I'm a third-year and the boxing club's captain at Gekkoukan High."

The blue-haired teen simply nodded, not bothering to exchange his name or offer to shake hands. "So, what's the boxing champ doing up this hellish time of night?"

Akihiko took a quick glance around to make sure the coast was clear before replying. "You see, it's not safe to be out here at this time of night. There are these creatures called Shadows…"

"Oh, you mean those unreal black things?" Blue hair interrupted. "I saw one munching on the brains of an unlucky passer-by yesterday. Another one showed up and tried to do the same to me, but I kicked it in the mask and it ran away."

Needless to say, Akihiko was astounded to hear this. Not only did he encounter a Shadow, but also drove it off without the use of a Persona? If Ikutsuki heard of this, he would think that Christmas came early with the new addition of an interesting person such as this. Of course, he could be lying, but Akihiko cleared his throat and decided to keep going with the explanations. The others would want to see him later, no matter what story he gave.

"Long story short, I'm part of an after-school club," he gestured to the red armband on his right arm, "that is dedicated to fighting the Shadows and finding out more about the Dark Hour, and hopefully get rid of it for good."

Blue hair whistled in response. "Didn't know that the school was part of the Self-Defence Force."

"It isn't, nobody else knows about what's going on so… you could say we're a freelance group. Anyway, we're always in need of new members, and just by being awake in the Dark Hour is a good sign that you're the material we are looking for. So, will you join us? It doesn't matter if you're not a student at our school, we could use all the help we can get."

The boy stroked his chin with his right hand, his pale blue eyes glancing upwards as a quizzical expression formed on his face. He held this position for a few seconds, before returning his gaze to Akihiko, this time with a warm smile on his face.

"Such a tempting offer, given the chance to do something other people can't do and protecting them from things unseen. I would love to join you…" He paused for a second, before turning around, holding up his right hand with only his index and middle fingers raised together, before turning his hand ninety degrees to the right and extending his thumb while he did so, as a way of waving goodbye before walking off. "Buuuuuut I'll have to pass. Later."

"Wha… Hey, wait up!" Akihiko was dumbfounded by the sudden, flippant dismissal. So he quickly dashed forward and tried to grab the boy's shoulder…

"Oh. By the way, I got this from that shadowy-thing." The boy said, brandishing a strange light blue gem he had hidden in the curled fingers of his right hand before crushing it.

**FSSSH!**

Akihiko yelled in pain as a Bufula spell encased him in ice before shattering.

The boy in red looked at the retreating blue head in shock, before collapsing to the ground in agony. His Persona had an affinity with electricity and a weakness to ice. It might have been a lucky guess on the mysterious boy's part, but the attack nearly killed Akihiko.

_"He has a Persona?"_ Spoke his thoughts through the pain as it dulled his senses, muting the fading footsteps. _"I didn't see him summon one. But that gem had properties only a Persona user could utilise… Man, this hurts!"_

Groaning in pain, Akihiko was surprised that no Shadows had jumped at him while he was crippled on the ground like that, especially given how close he was to Tartarus. But he wasn't complaining. He needed to let the others know about this guy as soon as possible. It's bad enough having one person with the potential around who won't join for selfish reasons, but the blue-haired boy could tap into that power and was prepared to use it to harm others. That was not something Akihiko would let go just like that.

After fighting off the worst of the pain and shock, he got to his knees and pulled out his Evoker that he hid in his jacket. It was summoning device that resembled a silver gun. He placed it beneath his chin and pulled the trigger, summoning his Persona, Polydeuces.

**BANG!**

Shards of ethereal glass spiralled upwards out of his head, flowing behind him and merging to form a tall, imposing figure with a squat head that had pale white skin, sunken yellow eyes and flowing blonde hair wearing blue tile-like armour plating over a white body-suit, and had red boots and a red glove on his left hand. His body had odd proportions, the muscles on its torso, upper arms and thighs were incredibly bulky while the shins, feet, left forearm and hand were all disturbingly small by proportion. The only exception was his right arm, which was covered entirely by a steel prosthetic ending with an antenna-like spike protruding from the hand. That was the point where Polydeuces focused all his power, and he pointed it towards Akihiko, bracing it with his left hand, before leaping backwards as it blasted a Dia spell at him to cure his freezer burns.

His Persona faded back into his subconscious after fulfilling its task. Holstering his evoker, Akihiko took a moment to catch his breath before standing up again. He put his hand to the discreet transmitter in his left ear, pressing the send button. "Mitsuru… _*cough*_ ugh, you there?"

_"Akihiko!"_ Came the response. _"What's going on? I sensed that you were in pain just now."_

After groaning again, he managed to answer his worried classmate. "You're not gonna believe this… I met someone with the potential at Port Island Station. And I didn't see him summon one, but he can tap into the power of Persona."

There was a brief silence on the other side, probably her and Yukari reacting in a surprised manner. Akihiko gave them time to muse over this. There's no sense in rushing women, especially Mitsuru.

_"I see. Are you injured?"_

"He used a gem with a Bufula spell to freeze me as he walked off, the jackass." He replied, with a slight hint of annoyance. "Managed to fix myself up, though I could do with a hot shower later."

_"Can you describe this person?"_

"By the looks of things, he's around Takeba's age. Don't know if he goes to Gekkoukan, but apparently he arrived here yesterday, so he could be a transfer student. He has blue hair, grey eyes and a music player with grey headphones around his neck. A guy like that shouldn't be too hard to spot."

_"Copy that, I'll check the class rosters for anyone matching his description and make some enquiries with the other…"_ Once again, the line went silent.

"Mitsuru? You still there?" Akihiko asked, this time being the worried one.

_"I sense a strange presence at the train station, it's approaching the dorm. Takeba and I will investigate. You should get back here as soon as possible. We may need your help."_

"Roger. I'll be there."

Taking his hand away from his ear, Akihiko warmed up and began jogging back to the dorm. Since it would have taken a long time to go over to the Moonlight Bridge to cross back onto the mainland, he decided to take a chance and run along the monorail line since the power was out. He just hoped that there wasn't a train on his path as he went over the water, as there were few points without any inspection platforms due to maintenance issues. Still, it would give his balance a workout as he jogged along the thin metal line. And his pain tolerance too, his body still stung from that attack.

All the way over, Akihiko kept on mulling over recent events in his head. The Shadows appeared to grow more restless and aggressive lately, this strange boy with the potential appeared, and now something strange is heading straight for headquarters. It seemed that the new school year would bring more than its fair share of problems. But those prospects didn't bother him in the slightest.

_"Heh, things are getting interesting a little too fast." _He thought, making it out of Iwatodai station just before the Dark Hour ended.

* * *

Akane's first day at school was a welcome break from the crazy stuff that happened to her recently. Not only were there train delays, nightmares, radioactive butterflies and trip into another dimension, but she had to deal with a small boy in prison clothes asking her to sign a contract, and two of her schoolmates with handguns strapped to their thighs, which they seemed reluctant to give an explanation for. That was just too much for one night, so she was grateful for a few hours' sleep.

Next morning, she made her way to the beautifully located school with Yukari Takeba (Sans handgun) via the monorail. She was a good looking girl around the same height as Akane, though her figure was more athletic and she had light brown hair and hazel eyes. Like Akane, she was dressed in the Gekkoukan High uniform, but she appeared to have taken a few liberties with her appearance. She wore a pink cardigan in place of the black blazer and a mini-skirt in place of the standard knee-length one Akane wore. She wore the same style of brown loafers as Akane, though the long black socks with white decal appeared to be pushing the boundaries somewhat. How she was able to get away with that getup was beyond Akane, but she figured that if the school was that lax with the dress code, then she could get away with wearing her headphones.

Despite their awkward encounter last night, the two girls were getting along well. Yukari was friendly and eager to help, a rare quality that most students lacked in her other schools, Akane noted. She guessed that it came with the territory. After all, who would want to share a living space with someone you hate? But she had her suspicions that the girl in pink was trying to make up for last night, or even prompt her to put it out of mind. There was a mysterious undertone to her actions that Akane took note of. This sense came from experience, she had to deal with a few pesky boys in the past who had ulterior motives. But after a few hours together, Akane guessed Yukari was merely trying to help. So she decided to hold her suspicions for now lest she lose a potential new friend.

On their way through the gates, Akane noticed that many people were complimenting her appearance as well as comparing her to her dorm mate. She paid them no mind, deciding to wait until class introductions to worry about news circulating about her. But there were some other rumours that got her attention, namely ones concerning a boy that came in before her. He obviously got the attention of the girls, since they were talking almost incessantly about how handsome and suave he was. Some even joked that he and Yukari might make a good couple; others suspected that just by being another transfer student meant that he and Akane knew each other in some form. Not wanting to give the rumour mill any reason to increase production, she decided to reserve judgment until she actually met the guy. Yukari, however, was not impressed by the gossip and scowled at the rumourmongers as she quickly walked on.

After parting ways with her dorm mate at the shoe lockers, Akane decided to hang out in the corridor for a bit. To get a feel of the school's atmosphere, she eavesdropped on some conversations the other students had while checking out her class placement on the notice board. The list was so jam-packed with names that it took her two tries to find out that she was in 2-F, along with Yukari, she noticed. At least she had a familiar face to ease the awkwardness of introducing oneself to the class. That was usually a stressful situation for her on the first days at every new school. And with that in mind, she turned to walk down to the faculty office to get another stressful situation out of the way: the paperwork.

Upon entering the faculty office, she was greeted by Isako Toriumi, her new homeroom teacher. Akane almost did a double take when she stood up to meet her, for the teacher looked suspiciously like a grown-up version of Yukari. Her hair was the same colour and in a similar choppy style, her outfit's main colour was pink and she had this underlying beauty that was comparable to Yukari's. The difference was that Miss Toriumi's brown eyes were several shades darker, her pink pantsuit wasn't as bright as Yukari's cardigan and her beauty didn't stem from athletic prowess, but from a more academic background. With her confusion quickly dismissed, she returned the teacher's greeting and moved on to the boring admin work.

They went through the usual motions; checking the information to make sure it was all correct and apologising because she forgot to read the part about being an orphan because she was so busy, which Akane brushed off in a cheery fashion. She learned not to make too much of a fuss regarding her parents' deaths if it was brought up in an innocent way like this, though it still pained her to remember the incident. After getting that straight, the conversation was interrupted by the snap of a closing cell phone behind her proceeding a vocal introduction.

"Well, this is rare. It's not often that I have company whenever I move to a new school."

Turning around, Akane came face-to-face with whom, she assumed, the other students were gossiping about. He was casually leaning against the wall on the right side of the door, hands in pockets and legs crossed. He wore his jacket open and, strangely enough, he also had the same model of music player and headphones that Akane did (Apart from the different colour schemes, of course). She noted that the girls gossiping were right about one thing; he was a looker. His long blue hair and grey eyes were rare features, plus his voice was warm and inviting.

But the real selling point was his smile. All the while he stood there, he had a smile on his face the whole time. While a feature like that would normally make people suspicious, it seemed to compliment his appearance well. There was no malice in his eyes, just plain sincerity. It was as though that smile was his neutral expression. And yet, there was a nagging doubt about it that made her uncomfortable. As if it were unnatural for him of all people to smile like that.

Miss Toriumi cleared her throat. "This is Shiomi-san, another transfer student who I have been talking with before you came in. I can sort the rest of the paperwork out later since we got the important parts out of the way. But for now, let's go to the opening ceremony."

The boy nodded and stepped away from the wall, walking over to Akane, who was still somewhat unsettled by his appearance. And she was even more unsettled when he raised his right arm before crossing it over his chest to bow with over-the-top elegance. As for Miss Toriumi, she simply rolled her eyes and shook her head at his over-the-top introduction.

"My full name is Sakuya Shiomi. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"...Isn't that a girl's name?" Akane asked on impulse, silently cursing herself when she realised that he probably heard that a million times over.

Although there was a slight wince just hidden by his long fringe, Sakuya stood upright once more with a shrug and a bashful smile. "Yeah... I get that a lot. Don't know what my parents were thinking when they christened me with the name of a goddess. But I've lived with it for seventeen years, so why complain now?"

Surprised by the calm way he handled a subject that would've enraged most people, Akane made a note never to bring the subject up again and simply responded with a formal bow before introducing herself. "Akane Arisato. Nice to meet you, too."

Sakuya gave a polite nod in return before looking to their homeroom teacher. "Well, I'd say we had better get moving."

Miss Toriumi asked them to follow her and led the way to the auditorium with them in tow. Secretly, Akane was somewhat nervous to be seen together with Sakuya, given the rumours going around already. But that was a problem she could sort out in class later. There would be ample opportunity to disprove any theories about him and her. And, if fate decreed it, she did end up dating him, none of that would matter at all. "If" being the key word, of course.

"By the way, Akane-san…" Sakuya casually said as they walked along.

"Hm? Yes?" She asked after being dragged out of her thoughts.

"Has anyone ever told you that your eyes are a lovely cherry-red?"

* * *

**Author's Note**

The idea for this fanfic was bought about when I found out about the Demon Path in a game called Soul Nomad and the World Eaters. The idea of an evil / antagonistic protagonist was an interesting concept that hasn't been played with that much in regards the Persona series. I've seen very few 'fics with this theme on the site. I guess people are more comfortable with sticking with what they know, rather than trying to experiment with well-loved characters.

Some of you may be wondering why I decided to call the Female Protagonist "Akane". Well according to my research, the meaning of her name is "deep red", so I thought it would tie in well with her colour scheme. Plus I wanted to play with the cherry references a bit.

I decided to call the Male Protagonist by the name used in the Persona 3: the Weird Masquerade to make it easier to differentiate between him and Akane. I still get caught up in some fanfics where they have similar names. Plus, "Sakuya" is similar to the name "Sakura", another cherry reference. And yes, I completely forgot to address the fact that it was a girl's name until SilverFlameHaze pointed it out in his review, but I have corrected that issue by the time you read this.

As for the tie-in with Persona 2, there was just too much good material for me to pass up. Hopefully I'll be able to tie it into the plot of this fic without too many glaring errors. Easier said than done, of course.


	2. Dealings by Day

**Chapter 2 – Dealings by Day**

* * *

"Good morning, all. My name is Sakuya Shiomi, another transfer student." Sakuya eloquently introduced himself. "And yes, I know my name is a bit unusual, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't use the "chan" honorific when talking about me with others. For their sakes, as much as mine. Nevertheless I am delighted to make your acquaintance."

Everyone in class was enraptured by the way Sakuya introduced himself, no small part due to his voice. Nobody expected a tall, lanky and somewhat dark figure like with a girl's name to speak with a voice full of vigour or move so gracefully. It caught everyone in the classroom off guard, excluding Miss Toriumi since she heard him speak before and was once again rolling her eyes at his hammy introduction. And for Akane, who once again put her mind into overdrive trying to figure out why he said what the masked boy in her nightmare had said. She was giving it too much thought to pay attention to her surroundings.

As for the rest of the students, the men of the classroom were watching him with interest while the girls were trying their best not to blush so much from his extravagant mannerisms. The same could not be said for Yukari Takeba as she was busy fighting such thoughts out of her mind as she observed Sakuya. Though she was stunned when he spoke up, she realised that he matched the description Akihiko gave of the guy who froze him last night, and was able to recover quicker than the others.

She watching him all the way though his introduction, checking his behaviour and the way he spoke against what Akihiko had said. So far, she couldn't see anything that would interpret him as a person who would lord himself over others with the power he had, but one look around the room told her that he wouldn't need to do that. Everyone was so taken in by how he acted, as though they were hypnotised. It was as though Sakuya were portraying himself as someone who would be above any suspicion, yet at the same time, Yukari noted how Sakuya acted so comfortable and carefree as he talked. He wasn't saying all of this in a determined or commanding way; it was as though he acted like this normally.

Another thing she noted is that Akane was wary of Sakuya. Especially when he casually commented that he liked cherries. Despite her unusual welcome in the dorm last night, there didn't seem to be anything bothering Akane as she walked to school this morning. So it seems that the new boy did something to upset her and either didn't notice or didn't care, maybe a bit of both. Regardless, Yukari was going to keep an eye on him for the rest of the day.

After all was said and done at the front, the two transfer students took their places in the empty seats around Yukari, with Akane behind and Sakuya to the left as the introductory lessons for the first term began. Throughout each morning period, the girl in pink took periodic glances at Sakuya, glad that his large fringe obscured his vision of her. She didn't see anything noteworthy, apart from the fact that his smile never seemed to waver. Sure, it was reduced considerably compared to the one he gave at the front, but there wasn't a single time that his face bore what most would consider a vacant expression.

_"I'm having a hard time getting a bead on him." _Yukari mentally complained. _"What a weirdo. Doesn't he ever stop smiling?"_

When lunchtime came around, people flocked towards Sakuya. He didn't seem bothered by it in the slightest and was incredibly patient with all of them, answering all their questions as he deemed fit while Yukari heard the sound of someone familiar behind here.

"Name's Junpei Iori! I know what it's like being the new kid, so I came to say hello. Isn't that nice of me?"

Yukari sighed and decided to cease her observation for now, lest she became enamoured with Sakuya herself. She then turned around to face Akane talking with the baseball cap-wearing goofball she knew through most of her academic life, standing there with his shirt untucked, a cheesy grin on his face and his ever-present wispy goatee on his chin that tempted Yukari to attack it with a shaver.

"At it again, huh?" She disdainfully announced her presence. "You'd hit on every girl you meet, won't you?"

Junpei looked indignantly at his fellow classmate. "H-hey! I'm just trying to be friendly here. Besides, Sakuya is the only one neck-deep in people right now. Can you blame a guy for trying to pick up the slack?"

"No need to worry, Yukari-chan." Akane said in a relaxed manner. "I can handle myself when it comes to pushy people. Not saying that you're included in that statement of course, Junpei-kun."

Junpei chuckled with a smirk as he scratched the back of his fuzzy head. "See, Yuka-tan? No harm at all."

"If you say so…." Yukari sighed in exasperation before getting up and standing by the new girl. "Hey," she whispered, "you didn't tell anyone about… you know what, right?"

"Of course not." Akane whispered back.

"Good, that's a relief. Seriously, though. Don't…"

"Excuse me, miss?"

Yukari yelped in surprise upon hearing that. Turning around, she came face-to-face with Sakuya, who still had that darn smile on his face. "Sorry to interrupt, but I was wondering if you could tell me of a quiet place where I could eat my lunch? I'm not that familiar with the school's layout, and I'm not fond of excessive background noise."

"Huh?" Came Yukari's intelligent response before she straightened herself out. "Uh, the roof is usually a good place to go if you don't want to be interrupted. Take the staircase on the right as you leave the classroom."

"Thanks." Sakuya said, giving a warmer smile before making his way out with his lunchbox under his arm. But before he stepped out, he turned to Yukari with a sly expression on his face. "By the way, I forgive you for staring at me all through the morning."

"What!?" Yukari exclaimed.

All Sakuya did in response was chuckle, wink at her and walk out of the classroom. Words and actions like that did not go unnoticed, for all eyes turned towards the girl in the pink sweater.

"Ooooooh!" Junpei playfully said. "Do my keen senses deceive me, or do I detect a budding romance?"

"Wh-what? No!" Yukari exclaimed, her face turning bright red. "I wasn't staring at him!"

"No need to deny it, Yuka-tan. I noticed that you couldn't keep yourself from looking his way all through the lessons. I never would have expected _you_ of all people to gaze longingly upon someone you've just met!"

"Look here, Stupei! I did NOT…"

Her objection was halted when she saw Akane from the corner of her eye, who was looking intently at the silhouette of Sakuya as he walked away. Hoping to change the subject, she decided to find out what was troubling her dorm mate.

"Hey, you okay?" Yukari asked, snapping the auburn girl out of her concentration. "I've noticed that you seem edgy around Sakuya-san since you came in. Did he do something to upset you?"

"Not really…" Replied Akane while looking down at her desk, right hand grasping her chin in thought. "It's just that he gave me a compliment about my eyes when we first met."

"Wait, what!?" Both Junpei and Yukari yelled in surprise along with everyone else in class, who were equally shocked upon hearing this this. "He hit on you!?"

"I'm not sure if he did." Akane said, looking even more troubled. "It's just that… I have the weirdest sense of déjà-vu…"

* * *

Akihiko growled in frustration as the guy who knocked his lights out last night continued to ignore him. He ignored him earlier when they passed each other on the third floor's staircase, and now he just sat there cross-legged on the floor with his eyes closed, bringing a bunch of cherries to his mouth with a pair of chopsticks.

The only thing that stopped Akihiko from hauling Sakuya to his feet was his curiosity about the way he ate. Without the aid of sight, Sakuya managed to empty his bento box. Nothing bigger than a grain of rice had fallen back into the empty container. And now he was pulling cherries off the stems with his teeth, eating them and then dropping the stones back into the box without any saliva or juice staining his lips or clothing. A few seconds later, Sakuya placed the chopsticks down gracefully. Only then did he open his eyes to admire his handiwork.

"Heh, every stone and stalk, only five rice grains and a few specks of food here and there… I must be improving." He said, before noticing Akihiko's shadow looming over him. "Sorry, I didn't notice you there. I tend to block out all external stimuli when I eat, so I apologise if you were trying to get my attention."

"How convenient." Akihiko mumbled indignantly. Though he was still a bit mad about the ice attack, he remembered to keep things low-key and waited for Sakuya to get up before getting down to business. "Now that you're done, I think that it's time we had a chat about what happened last night."

Sakuya's perpetually vibrant face morphed into a bored expression. "Does it have to be now? Lunch will be over in ten minutes, and we have company, you know."

Despite his desire to set the record straight, Akihiko knew he had a point. There wouldn't be enough time to talk extensively about last night, and near the corner where the two were standing hovered a small crowd of curious students. They were all watching the exchange between the two with interest; anything said would not go unnoticed. And as tempted as it sounded, dragging Sakuya into the student council room for a private talk would raise a few eyebrows. Akihiko couldn't lay a finger on him at the moment, and that frustrated him.

"Tell you what," Sakuya said; regaining his happy demeanour, "I'll meet you in the lobby later. Me going out late last night for a tour of the city wasn't exactly a bright idea, and I'll be happy to sort out any issues."

_"At least he's giving a plausible explanation to the eavesdroppers."_ Thought Akihiko before replying. "Eh, I'm sure they'll understand. Just don't be late."

"Sure thing, senpai."

Sakuya gave an affirming nod before walking away, leaving the other students gossiping about his excuse in his wake. He wasn't at all bothered about whatever crazy theories would be formed from that tidbit of information. Akihiko stood his ground to watch him go, mentally reminding himself to tell Mitsuru about this later. She was just as eager to get her hands on him, though probably for different reasons. With her Persona's affinity with ice, she wouldn't have to worry about freezer burns.

Meanwhile, Sakuya bumped into a familiar auburn-haired girl on his way downstairs. Or he would have if he didn't notice her in time and swerved skilfully to avoid a head-on collision. He then stood in front of the startled Akane, giving her time to regain her composure.

"Sorry about that, Akane-chan." He apologised. "Corners are never easy to see around."

"Uh, thanks Shiomi-san…" Still thrown off from what happened, it took her a while to ask the question plaguing her mind. "Um, about that compliment earlier, did you say that to me before…?"

The blue haired boy cocked an eyebrow at that question. "What makes you think that? Where have you heard it before?"

"Well, I heard it from a middle school kid who lived in Sumaru City. He looked similar to you from what I remember. But the strange thing is… I've never been there before. My middle school was in Osaka."

"I see." He said while closing his eyes. "In that case, that can't have been me who said it to you. It's true, I went to middle school at Sumaru four years back, but I never saw or met anyone like you. And I was too busy dealing with the deaths of my parents at the time to be paying attention."

"Your parents?" Akane asked, looking surprised. "What happened to them?"

His expression darkened as he looked to one side in reluctance. "Electrical malfunction. They were… literally fried to death."

"Oh, I'm sorry… But I have an idea of how you feel. I lost my parents when I was seven."

"Sucks to be us, eh?" He joked while still sounding hurt. "Anyway, I'm sorry for confusing you like that."

"Oh no, it's okay." Akane said, trying her best to sound upbeat. "Sorry for dragging up a sensitive subject."

"Water under the bridge, my dear." He said, regaining his usual demeanour. "Anyway, class will start again soon. We'd better get back."

The two of them walked back side by side, with Akane mulling over what her fellow transfer student said. A big revelation like that made her think about his behaviour. She wondered if he acted in an extravagant manner because he was still pained to remember his parents' deaths and tried to hide his gloomy side. She also thought about his reaction to her dream. He outright dismissed it and changed the subject entirely. It may have been because it wasn't true, but a nagging doubt lingered in her mind.

_"It's as though he's trying to discourage me from thinking about it. Is there even a small chance…?"_

* * *

_"Akihiko," began a very unimpressed Mitsuru, "I would like to clarify something since we've been standing here for over half an hour now. When Shiomi said that he would meet us later, did he mean "later" as in after school, or "later" as in sometime in the near future?"_

_"I'm guessing it's the latter." He responded, looking everywhere around the schools entrance for any trace of the blue-haired boy, before slamming his fist against the wall. "That lying son of a…!"_

The memories of yesterday afternoon still plagued Akihiko's mind as he laid in wait in the school's lobby. Sakuya managed to dupe SEES yesterday and leave them in the dust. Mitsuru was, to say the least, not amused by this turn of events. Since she would be caught up with other affairs today, she ordered Akihiko and Yukari to keep a close eye on the blue-haired student and stop him if he tries to escape from their grasp once more.

"_He won't get away this time."_ Akihiko vowed as he waited for Sakuya to make his next move.

So far, he hasn't done anything suspicious throughout the day. He was present for every lesson, ate lunch on the roof in his trance-like state as before, went to the bathroom whenever he needed to and caused no trouble in class. The only things noteworthy were that he wasn't giving the other students as much attention as he was yesterday, despite his friendly interactions. The only person he did give attention to was Akane, though everyone assumed he was simply gaining her trust before making a move on her. He did come across as a bit of a flirt.

Despite that, he was behaving like a model student, and that unsettled them. If he were to make a break for it, it would be spontaneous, meant to catch everyone off-guard. But that means it will also be easy to follow him, as an instantaneous action would certainly grab people's attention. On the other hand, it could be a ruse covering up an elaborate escape strategy he planned in advance, in which case…

Akihiko felt his phone vibrate. He pulled it out of his pocket and flipped it open to find a text from Yukari:

_Sakuya went down the other staircase._

_I think he's going to get out from the back._

Akihiko chuckled and snapped his phone shut. "Easier than I thought."

He briskly walked through the corridor to the right of him, quickly scanning each of the clubrooms as he went in case they became impromptu hiding places. He even checked the fire escape just in case Sakuya managed to disable the alarm and slip out. Finding no signs of his presence, Akihiko continued on his way through to the corridor connecting the main school building to the sports wing. He took a quick look around outside for any trace of his target. Surprisingly, there was none. He wasn't hiding behind any bushes, nor was there any sign of the small group of curious students who followed him around to give his presence away. Not giving up, he checked out all of the sports club's regular hauntings, again finding no trace of him. He searched every nook and cranny in the gym, the pool and out the back near where the track team practices. But he wasn't there, nor was there any evidence that he climbed over the fence.

"Where on earth is he?" Akihiko growled in frustration. "And where's Takeba? I thought she was tailing him."

His phone buzzed again. This time, the message was:

_Where are you?_

_He just walked out the front._

"Are you kidding me!?" Akihiko cursed and dashed back to the entrance.

Upon arriving, he looked outside the glass doors of the school and, sure enough, he saw a lanky figure with blue hair disappearing in the direction of Paulownia Mall. Akihiko cursed audibly, catching a few looks from the surrounding students. He hadn't changed into his outdoor shoes since he was expecting to catch Sakuya before he left. And the ones he wore were no good when it came to running, he very nearly fell over while dashing through the halls just now. Quick as he could, he went over to his locker and swapped his indoor pair out, brushing aside the usual pile of love letters that the younger female students left for him and were always ignored. Before he was done tying his laces, he was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"You're still here, senpai?" A bemused Yukari asked. "I thought you would've caught him by now."

"Wha… Takeba!? Why did you tell me he was going out the back?"

"Huh? I never said that!"

"What do you mean you… Look here!" Akihiko said, bringing his phone out and showing the first message she sent.

After reading the message, Yukari's eyes widened and her mouth dropped in complete shock. "No way…"

Hurriedly, she then bought out her own phone and checked her sentbox. And to her utter surprise, the message was there. And below that one yet another message with her caller ID that was sent to her own number:

_Next time you stalk someone,_

_don't be so obvious about it._

Yukari's face turned white, before the colour scheme changed to an angry red as the realisation dawned on her. "That son of a… So THAT'S where my phone went!"

"What are you talking about?" Akihiko asked.

"I lost my phone just before the bell rang. I was looking for this everywhere with the other students, until I found it in my schoolbag just now when I was going through my stuff."

"He swiped your phone and sent me a dummy message!?"

Both of them were silent for a moment, seething with anger over the fact that they had been duped yet again. Then they slowly turned their heads looked at each other. When their eyes met, they silently agreed on one thing:

They were going to kill him.

* * *

Though Yukari was still fuming as she walked through Paulownia Mall with Akane, she tried to keep it calm for her sake. She didn't know about the Dark Hour or what happened since the night she arrived, and she was the only one who got along well with Sakuya. There was no telling how she would take the news. So, Yukari decided to avoid the subject and talk about the mall instead.

"Have you come here before?" She asked, trying to sound upbeat. She gestured around as she listed off everything around her. "A lot of Gekkoukan students come here after school. There's a karaoke box, a CD shop… Oh, and there's a great café here too! There's also a nightclub, but that's… kinda not for us, yet."

Akane nodded, noting how many students from the school were passing them by or checking out the shops. The entire mall was a wonderfully designed place. The domed glass ceiling provided ample light during the day and made the main fountain sparkle beautifully whenever the sun was out. The pattern of the floor complimented the look of the place well, and each store was unique and appealing in differing ways. Akane liked this place and decided to visit here later when she had some free time. Plus, she could work part-time in some of the stores for some extra income if need be.

But when she looked back at Yukari, she could see that something was bothering her. It was distressing enough when she lost her phone earlier, but after the two met up outside the school gates, she seemed to be even more troubled. Akane didn't like seeing people hurt emotionally, which is why she acted friendly with Sakuya. She knew how tough it was to go through life knowing that your loved ones will never see you again in the world of the living. And now Yukari seemed to be at her wit's end. So once they were out of the mall, Akane tried to find out what was wrong with her new friend.

"Hey, is everything alright?"

"Eh? Uh, yes. I'm still a bit stressed after losing my phone." She lied. Badly.

Akane didn't buy that. "Weren't you the one telling me that you were so relieved to find it earlier?"

"Uh… W-well…" Cornered, Yukari decided to tell a half-truth. "Alright. I'm worried about a friend of mine. He was trying to set another student straight, and went completely ignored even though they were just trying to keep the guy out of trouble. I was going to help out earlier, but got distracted when my phone went missing."

"I see." Akane said, half-satisfied. "And how are things going at the moment?"

"Downhill. The person in question lied to my friend's face and left them picking up the pieces. No matter what we try to do, we just end up getting more and more frustrated."

"Do you think it will get sorted out anytime soon?"

"Not really. It had only happened the day you arrived, so I don't see it ending anytime soon. This kind of thing tends to drag on. It doesn't help that the person we're trying to help is completely thoughtless. They have no sense of what his actions may end up causing for him and for everyone else. But I guess all we could do is persevere."

"I see." Akane said, sounding completely satisfied. "I wish you and your friend luck."

"Oh, thanks, Akane!" The girl in pink said, glad that she could drop the subject and clear her frustration in one move. "Sorry to dump all of this on you, since you've only just got here."

"Anytime, Yukari. Besides, I'm the one who asked for it."

Both of the girls shared a laugh, before deciding to go back to the dorm early. Though Yukari thought that she had satisfied the curiosity of her new friend, Akane wasn't buying it. She noticed that the mysterious problem child was referred to using the word "him" at one point, probably a slip of the tongue. Yukari didn't seem to be as proactive as "her friend" was over the past few days in trying to sort it out. And there was only one person in the class who got her undivided attention, a certain male transfer student.

_"Just what is going on between him and her?"_ She thought as the now chipper archer led the way indoors, where an important visitor from the school's faculty was waiting for them.

* * *

**Author's Note  
**

Okay, I'll admit this isn't my best chapter. A lot of dialogue, no action scenes and very little in the way of Sakuya screwing SEES over (alliteration FTW). But don't let that turn you off, if you are a new reader. I promise that things'll get spiced up as the story progresses.


	3. Dealings by Night

**Chapter 3 – Dealings by Night**

* * *

Unknown to the auburn-haired girl sound asleep in her room, she was being watched. Yukari, Mitsuru and the school's Board Chairman Ikutsuki, whom she met earlier this evening to welcome her, were monitoring Akane as the Dark Hour came on the stroke of twelve. Since they were eager to see the true extent of her potential, they were using the dorm's surveillance system to see how she would react to the 25th hour. And to their surprise, she didn't show any of the normal signs a person would show in regards to the Dark Hour. She just slept through the hour as if there were no difference to the world around there.

But, if they were somehow able to view her dreams, then they would find something even more abnormal. Namely a large, spacious blue room resembling an over-sized elevator car with blue curtains, carpet and furniture. A large floor meter continuously ticked and spun on the wall Akane was facing. A soft piano melody accompanied by opera singing played in the background from an unseen source. But, more importantly, there was someone, or rather something, wearing a formal suit sitting on the seat opposite hers, someone more startling in appearance than the room itself.

"Welcome," began the mysterious long-nosed man, "to the Velvet Room my dear young lady. My name is Igor, I am delighted to make your acquaintance."

Akane didn't respond. With all the weird stuff that she went through lately, she was at a loss for words. As though he were reading her mind, Igor chuckled and calmly explained to her.

"I can understand your confusion." He spread his long, thin arms wide with his gloved palms outstretched. "After all, this very room exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. But I assure you, this is no mere dream you have experienced countless times before."

With a wave of his hand, a black plastic folder appeared on the circular table in front of Igor. Akane recognised the very document inside after the transparent cover opened by itself, it was the contract that the strange little boy asked her to sign when she arrived at the dorm.

"Only those who have signed the _contract_ are able to enter this place and utilise its services. Henceforth, you shall be welcome in the Velvet Room." With another wave of his hand, the folder closed and vanished. He then perched his elbows on his legs once more, clasping his hands together. "The only thing I ask in return is that you abide by the contract, and assume responsibility for all your actions."

The pieces were slowly starting to form in Akane's mind. The boy and this room are somehow linked. And they want to help her to achieve a certain goal, if the contract anything to go by. The words; _"I chooseth this fate of my own free will"_, and Igor's condition to assume responsibility, gave her the impression that it was something big. Something that she couldn't do without help. But what about her nightmares? How do they factor into it?

Given her location, she decided to ask him about this. "If this place is in between dreams and reality, do you know about what happens in my mind?"

Igor raised an eyebrow at this question. "Why, your thoughts are yours and yours alone unless you choose to share them, of course. If you are asking if I am able to observe the events that occur on both sides of the spectrum, then yes, I can. I am able to see the lives and dreams of any of the Room's guests or potential visitors."

"Then, you know about my nightmares, right? Could you tell me more about them?"

The peculiar man chuckled. "My dear young lady, I am afraid I cannot divulge any more than you already know about the visions you are receiving."

"Why not?" Akane asked indignantly, before she latched on to something else Igor said. "Wait, did you say _"visions"_? That's what they are?"

"Of course. No nightmare or dream, no matter how vivid, can ever follow a distinct narrative like the one you have experienced."

"I see. But if they are visions, then what are they supposed to tell me?"

Igor shrugged apologetically. "Like I explained, I am afraid I can answer no more. But I will tell you this: All the answers will be provided in due course by the one who shares your dreams."

Akane's mind threw out more questions as she heard the answer. Someone else shared her predicament? Did they know more about the meaning behind those events? Before she could ponder any more, Igor interrupted her train of thought once again.

"Now then, time marches on in your world now. It would be rude of me to keep you here. I hope to see you again soon," he then gestured to his left, "and introduce you to my assistant who, regrettably, is tied up in affairs elsewhere at this moment. Until then, farewell…"

The dream ended slowly and peacefully, the music gently accompanied her as everything faded to black once more. Though she still had many unanswered questions, her last thought before going asleep was to simply go with the flow and hope to figure it all out later.

* * *

As Akane slept peacefully in the real world, within the maze-like labyrinth known as Tartarus, the sounds of Shadows dying resonated throughout the cold green corridors of the Thebel block. The alarmingly fast rate of the monsters meeting their doom scared the others to the core. They sensed the killing intent behind each blow and were none too eager to meet the one raining death upon them.

The person in question was Sakuya Shiomi, who ventured into Tartarus out of curiosity. He first saw the ghastly tower the night before he encountered Akihiko, looking upon it in awe as it reached up to the heavens. He decided to take a closer look the next day and would've gone in then if he didn't run into the upperclassman. He was unsure as to whether or not this strange after-school group was willing to carve their way through all the Shadows crawling around in order to chase him. So he tailed Akihiko on his patrol last night, taking care not to be noticed. Sure enough, he never went further than the main gate of Gekkoukan, beyond which the infernal tower sprang up. That meant that he would most likely have free reign of the place tonight.

Well, as far as humans were concerned, that is.

"Get lost." He spat as he dealt with his next targets.

**BOOM!**

**BOOM!**

**BOOM!**

The Shadows who were grouped around the entrance to a branching corridor suddenly evaporated into a black mist after being hit by multiple fiery blasts. Sakuya groaned in exhaustion as he staggereded past the scorch marks and down the corridor branching to the left, glancing in all directions for any further threats as he went on.

"I really need to rethink my wardrobe." He said while looking down at his sweater and jeans, which were currently drenched with sweat. "This getup is not made for strenuous workouts…"

Despite that, Sakuya thought he did pretty well for a first-timer. His powers were strong and the short sword he picked up from a silver briefcase a few moments ago seemed to work well against the Shadows when he went in for physical attacks. Probably because it was engineered to fight them, if the "Kirijo Group" stamp on the scabbard and hilt was anything to go by. He also managed to get some interesting items and cash from similar briefcases. Jokingly, it made him think that the tower was a large pawnbroker's shop run by the Shadows.

But the benefits were offset by the fact he was hopelessly lost most of the time. It seemed as though each floor shifted by itself each time he went upstairs, the staircase sealing up behind him after he got to the top. The layout was completely random, meaning he had to quickly figure out where he was at all times. And the constant, ominous echo of chains rattling in the background followed by an encroaching sense of dread chilled him to the bone. This would have been so much easier if only someone were there to guide him…

Thankfully, he had not been on this floor for too long. He had a bit of breathing space for him to quickly explore the area and get out as soon as he could. He didn't notice it before, but being in the Dark Hour sapped his strength faster whenever he used his powers. Though he kept himself in good physical and mental condition, he was on the verge of collapsing into a puddle of his own sweat. But his willpower drove him to continue until he found a way out. There was no way he would let himself die in such an undignified manner.

Fortunately, it seemed that the exit might be right in front of him. Once again, he came across this strange gold machine on the floor with a glowing green inverted dome in the centre. Sakuya kept finding these things scattered around the place, but was unsure of what to do with them. It didn't help that the Shadows rushed him en masse every other time he found one. But now he could take a closer look at it, he noticed that it looked like a smaller-scale version of a similar gold machine he found in the spacious lobby of the first floor, though this one didn't have an access panel attached to an arching metal tube.

_"This some kind of teleporter?"_ Thought Sakuya. _"Well, the only thing I can do at this point is test it out. I've got nothing to lose at the moment, except my life, of course. I just hope I'll still have all my limbs attached when I come out the other side."_

With his mind made up, Sakuya took one step towards the device…

**BANG!**

"WAAAGH!"

…Only to slip in a puddle of blood and fall face-first into the ground. Just in time before a bullet made of concentrated energy struck the wall in front of him, on the same level his head was when he was standing.

_"Huh, and people say that spilling blood is never the best solution."_ He joked, slowly getting up to look at what shot at him.

Turning around, Sakuya could make out the shape of a ridiculously long gun barrel emerging from the gloom of the corridor behind him. It then moved closer, accompanied by the familiar sound of chains rattling. Sakuya stood his ground, curious to come face to face with whatever had been aggressively stalking him throughout the tower. That, and because his body was so tense from the fear radiating from the other end of corridor that he couldn't move. And when the shooter did become visible, it only panicked the blue-haired boy even more.

"YOU!? It can't be…!"

A bloodied head wrapped in a white execution hood with only one yellow eye showing, a rope around the neck to tie the hood in place, a tattered black long tailed double-breasted duster with bloodstains around the collar, a pair of floating iron chains crossed over the body in an x-shape, and a pair of black leather gloves grasping at two revolvers with three-metre barrels.

The abomination known as The Reaper had reared its ugly head to play. And it had only one thing to say before it levelled both of its guns at its target:

"**Traitoooooooorrrr…"**

Not wasting any time, Sakuya turned and dove for the machine. However, The Reaper was anticipating this and let loose a barrage of shots. They screamed through the air towards Sakuya's body, milliseconds away from impact. Just as the first bullet hit his left biceps, his hand touched the device and he was instantly teleported back to the entrance, just in time to avoid the other shots as they sped through the space he previously occupied before blowing sizeable chunks out of the wall. The hooded executioner howled in rage, the scream resonated throughout every floor of Tartarus and could be heard as far away as the Moonlight Bridge.

When the flash of green faded, Sakuya collapsed in a heap on the ground floor's teleporter. Tired and wounded, he struggled for each breath as he pulled himself away from the machine, fingers locked around his sword which he somehow managed to keep a hold of during the teleport. After sheathing the blade, he gripped the gruesome wound tight, trying to stem the flow of blood.

_"Well,_ _it _feels_ like my limbs are still attached." _he thought sarcastically despite the situation._ "So I guess that's a bonus."_

Not waiting to see if his assailant would follow him through, Sakuya did his best to haul himself up and stagger over to the other side of the staircase leading to the labyrinth's entrance. Anticipating trouble, he left a bag full of supplies next to the strange golden clock there. He just hoped the few medical supplies he managed to get a hold of were enough to fix his arm up. And hope his hand doesn't shake too much when he tries to bandage it up.

But as he neared his supplies, his attention was taken entirely the clock. There was a small alcove near the base. He didn't know what it was for when he first arrived, but now that he looked at it, he strangely thought that this is where money was supposed to go. As an experiment, he dug out five hundred yen of the earnings he took from the tower and placed it inside the alcove. When he did, he noticed that the money disappeared in a flash and the clock's hands rotated slowly in reverse, a pleasant ticking sound accompanied the motion. He was completely mesmerised by the event, his hand dropped from the wound as his mind shifted focus and his body slowly relaxed from the adrenaline rush it went through. Until the clock's hands had once again rested on twelve, he didn't notice that the pain was gone.

"Wait, what!?" He exclaimed and looked at his arm to find that it was completely healed. "Even my clothes are fixed! Did I just reverse time…? _*Yawn*_ Nope, still drowsy. Guess it only works in regards to physical damage."

Sighing in relief, he sat with his back to the clock and unzipped his bag. He bought out a can of soda (Guess which flavour?) and drained it in one go, gasping loudly after he was done.

_"I must say,"_ he thought while leaning back, _"I didn't expect to see _that guy_ again after all this time. Heh, guess he came back to punish me for my sins. Or maybe he's here for a different purpose… Ah, who knows? The Faceless One has been inactive for a long time. Wouldn't surprise me at all if he had a few contingency plans in the works…"_

Sakuya chuckled, amused by the turn of events. He could've sat there all day and pondered what The Reaper's appearance meant, but he had no idea what would happen if he stayed put within Tartarus as the Dark Hour ended. Becoming a pancake was not on his agenda before breakfast. So he placed the empty can on the ground, emptied his pockets and stuffed everything he got from the tower into his duffel bag. After doing that, he crumpled the can and put it on top of the loot before zipping up the bag and hooking the strap over his shoulder. It took a while, but he manage to will himself back on his feet and stagger out of the tower, still dizzy from exhaustion despite the amount of sugar in his system.

He had climbed over the locked gate to get here, since he didn't have the key. And now he wished he did, climbing back over with serious fatigue was going to be murder. After flinging his bag over and clambering over to the other side, his body finally gave out from exhaustion and he collapsed as soon as his feet touched the ground. He laid there on his side on his side, unable to move. And he would've stayed there all night if someone didn't swing by the entrance a minute later. Someone who heard The Reaper bellow earlier and came to investigate.

"You idiot. Takin' on Tartarus all by yourself?" Rebuked the young man in the maroon coat, before muttering another as he looked to the side. "Can't you keep a lid on the new kids, Aki?"

Sakuya was too drowsy to respond, though he realised from what the stranger said that he just encountered someone who knew Akihiko. Before passing out completely, he managed to formulate an appropriate response to new bit of information:

_"Aw, nuts…"_

* * *

The Dark Hour had ended just as suddenly as it began, the danger it presented had passed and Akihiko came back from his patrol just after it finished, before making his way back to the command room to return his equipment. Everything was going as it usually went after a night in the hidden hour…

**KA-BAM!**

…Which meant that upon hearing the front door of the dorm being kicked open, he and Mitsuru were instantly on alert again. They grabbed their Evokers and raced downstairs to face whatever forced its way inside. They were dreading the thought of finding a rogue Shadow that found its way into the real world, but were instead treated to a familiar, and yet puzzling sight. A tall, brown-haired young man in a maroon pea coat, a black beanie, black pants and brown leather shoes was standing next to the sofa in the longue, frowning at the two as they came down.

"Shinji!?" Akihiko exclaimed.

"Aragaki!?" Mitsuru mirrored.

"I've got something for you guys." Was all Shinjiro said in response, tilting his head towards the sofa after he was done speaking.

The two seniors exchanged confused glances before deciding to investigate. Shinjiro never came to them for anything unless it was on their request. They realised that something important had happened to prompt the former SEES member's appearance, but were caught off-guard by what he bought in. Lying down on the sofa was none other than the unconscious form of Sakuya Shiomi, the person they have tried to get their hands on for too long now. On the coffee table was his bag of goodies and the short sword he found sheathed next to it.

"This guy's got some of your equipment. He one of yours?"

"No." Mitsuru replied. "We have tried to get a hold of him for almost three days now, but he kept on avoiding us. He even attacked Akihiko."

Shinjiro snorted. "Can't say I'm surprised. You're too pushy for your own good, Aki."

That quip earned a glare from Akihiko. "For your information, he froze me when all I did was _suggest_ that he joins us."

"Tch, whatever. I'm not interested in his story. Though I do wanna know what you guys did to make him have a go at Tartarus alone."

"He did _WHAT_!?"

"Quiet, Akihiko!" Mitsuru snapped. "She's still asleep."

Remembering the presence of Akane upstairs, Akihiko tried to be a bit quieter. "He did what?"

"You heard me the first time." Came Shinjiro's annoyed reply. "I found him passed out in front of the school's gates. He obviously ticked off something inside that place; y'could hear the damn thing yell from the other side of the island. So I went to investigate and there he was, out like a light."

For a moment, there was nothing but silence. Akihiko was staring at his old friend in confusion and disbelief; Mitsuru was looking at the unconscious Sakuya with her arms crossed and eyes narrowed, and Shinjiro was completely disinterested about the whole situation. After a few more seconds of silence, Mitsuru spoke up.

"Thank you for bringing him in. We'll take care of him for now."

All the gloomy teen did in response was grunt and head for the door.

"Wait!" Akihiko called, stopping his friend in his tracks. "Sakuya… that guy you bought in is dangerous. Keep your wits about you if you see him again in the Dark Hour."

"Worry about yourself." Shinjiro said without turning around. "And remember, both you and he owe me for this. I won't pick him up the next time he does something stupid."

And on that note, he left. Akihiko cursed under his breath out of frustration for his old friend. Soon after, Yukari decided to come down after watching the whole exchange using the dorm's surveillance cameras. Neither of the seniors met her gaze, they were both focused on the now closed door.

"Who was that?" She asked, hoping for a response from either of them.

"…An old friend. I'll tell you some other time." Akihiko said with finality in his tone.

Yukari decided not to touch the subject and turned to Mitsuru. "So, we've finally got Sakuya. What should we do with him?"

"Put him in the room at the end of the corridor on the second floor." The redhead responded, glaring down at the unconscious teen. "We'll have some questions for him when he wakes up."

* * *

A while later, Sakuya once again walked down the green-tinted corridors of Tartarus. But this time, he walked casually with hands in his pockets. There were no Shadows around this time, nor were there any tell-tale clinks of the Reaper's chains in the background. There wasn't so much as a minute trace of danger to be found in this otherwise dangerous place. Normally, this would keep him on his guard. And yet despite that, he felt strangely at ease. Looking down, he saw that he was still wearing the same clothes as before, but other than that, he had nothing. He frowned upon realising this, no matter what the situation, Sakuya always kept some kind of weapon on his person, be it a spell gem or something easy to conceal like a switchblade knife or brass knuckles. He also couldn't feel any trace of his wallet, keys or phone, so that ruled out him being lured in unprepared. So why on earth would he empty his pockets before going back into this death trap?

Regardless, he decided to keep walking through the eerie corridors in the hellish school building. If there's one thing he learned from his previous visit, it was that procrastination will end up killing you. And he certainly didn't want any free bullet lobotomies courtesy of the tower's prowling menace. As he walked, he noticed that he was unconsciously going the same way he went when he got to the fourth floor of Tartarus. He recognised the route he picked, saw the two rooms he found some of the treasure-holding briefcases, even the junction where he incinerated the Shadows still bore the scorch marks. But instead of turning left towards the teleporter like he did last time, he went right instead, towards the staircase leading to floor five. Climbing the staircase while looking over his shoulder, he once again wondered how he was moving on unopposed.

He soon found his answer the moment he turned around at the top of the stairs. It was because his foe was waiting for him in this large, open hall.

**BANGBANGBANG!**

The Reaper's guns roared into action once more. Sakuya's battle-tested reflexes were barking out orders to dodge the incoming shots, but he still walked forward in the same casual manner. He had no control over his body's actions, nor could he shed that sense of calm urging him on. But in the end, it didn't matter. All of the shots missed him, on purpose, he suspected. Probably to show that The Reaper was more than capable of blowing his head off should the opportunity present itself.

The thing in question floated into view, smoke billowing from each of its revolvers. It held its guns off to the side, showing that it was not intending to kill Sakuya this time no matter how much it wanted to. Both of them stopped within three feet of each other, their eyes locking as both sized each other up.

_"Now I get it. He wants a private talk." _Sakuya figured out in his head. He then kicked off the conversation by making small talk. "So, old buddy. How's life after death treating you? They don't work you too hard now, do they?"

Receiving no response, he sighed and decided to change the subject. "I'm guessing they're still sore about the whole Seven Sisters thing?"

"**You… betrayed us."** The executioner responded, its deep, grim voice grating on Sakuya's eardrums like a knife scraping metal. **"Your treachery has not been forgotten. But I cannot… claim your life… You are still needed."**

"Nice to know I'm wanted." He quipped jovially. "So tell me, what are my orders? I've been shipped out here knowing nothing, other than I've got to win some bet the boss man made."

The Reaper looked around, then upwards as it spoke, as if looking at the tower in its entirety. **"A group… will try to reach the Palace… to learn the truth about Tartarus… You are to stand in their path…"**

Sakuya shrugged, remarking that he had some other form of motor control. "Simple enough. What if they _do_ find out, though?"

"**Let them wallow in despair… Let them experience life… like the ones the Shadows feast on… Then kill them."** After saying that, it hefted his revolvers in a threatening way. **"I will stalk the halls… keep the best weapons and armour safe... hunt them if they linger… My duty is to execute rogue elements… all of them…"**

"That includes me, right?"

He could've sworn that the Reaper had a murderous glint in its single eye when he said that. Well, more murderous than usual, anyway. **"Only if… you betray the cause… There will be no second chances… _"Sakuya the Dark Blue Moon"_… Break your oath… and I shall reap your soul."**

As if to enforce the point, it levelled one of his revolvers at Sakuya's face, aiming right between the eyes. But he realised a few seconds later that it was a dual purpose gesture.

"**Now… awaken."**

**BANG!**

Everything faded to black instantly.

Apart from the obvious bullet, the last thing to go through Sakuya's mind was thinking about how painful the migraine would be when he woke up.

* * *

**Author's Note**

I added the bit with Igor because first time I wrote this, I powered through the opening chapters, leaving a lot of information out. I also kinda forgot that there were two main focuses of the story, Akane was somewhat left out of the events. So I decided to add that part in to flesh her character out even more and to make up for my rookie mistake.


	4. House Arrest

**Chapter 4 – House Arrest**

* * *

"Ugh… Why did I agree to that drinking contest…?" Sakuya murmured as he groggily stirred from his slumber. "…Should be kept as disinfectant or mouthwash… Hate alcohol…"

Slowly, his mind began to function again. Acting out of habit, he sat upright on the bed he was on, rubbing his eyes and groaning while he yawned. He was still drowsy from last night, so instinctively he reached out for his bedside cabinet for the glass of water he kept nearby, but his hand just groped at the air. So he reached further to the right. That time, he froze when he realised he got a hold of something else. Because he was too busy shielding his eyes from the light to take a look at what he grabbed, he decided to figure it out by touch. From the feel of fabric and bare flesh, it felt like he was grabbing a part of someone's leg. Someone wearing a skirt and thigh-high leather boots, he guessed.

**KA-BOOM!**

And then it felt like intense pain when a vicious slap dealing Almighty damage connected with his cheek.

"AH! Geez!" He exclaimed, letting go to clutch his fresh wound.

"Half-asleep or no, I will NOT tolerate people groping at me!" The owner of the leg bellowed.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry for not knowing you were standing there in place of my bedside cabinet. Could you please… ah… stop hitting me!?" Sakuya yelled back. He was going to say; "keep your undies on", but wisely changed his sentence in case he got another slap.

Finally opening his eyes, he found out that he was not in the apartment he shared with a college student, but in a spacious room. The blue curtains were drawn, but he could tell from the light that it was the early morning. The room was empty as well, as if it were not set up for human habitation just yet. From all that, he guessed that the guy with the maroon coat bought him to a spare room at his place while he was unconscious. Though he couldn't understand why his clothes and school bag were stacked up on the desk.

More importantly, there were three figures standing to his left. The first of which was a beautiful red-haired student wearing a ruffled blouse, a knee-length skirt and high-heeled boots. She also had an expression on her face that could be lightly described as "annoyed". This was, in all probability, the young lady he inadvertently felt up. To her right was Akihiko, who appeared to be cringing and wincing in sympathetic pain as though HE were the one slapped. And to their left was Yukari, her hands covered her mouth and an expression of complete and utter shock was displayed on her face. Guess she wasn't expecting that chain of events to happen.

But strangely enough, the guy who picked him up wasn't there. From what Sakuya remembered, it didn't seem like the guy in the coat was on friendly terms with Akihiko. He guessed this was the result of him simply cashing in a favour.

_"By delivering me to them."_ Sakuya mentally complained. _"And from the looks of things, I'm about to be executed on the spot. Oh, goodie."_

Somewhat resigned to his fate, Sakuya swung around and placed his feet on the floor, crossed his legs and put his hands in his pockets. His eyes were aimed at the floor to avoid the murderous gaze of the redhead. "So, I'm assuming we're having that talk now?"

"Uh… Yeah. I guess you could say that." Akihiko said, regaining his composure once more. He then gestured to the redhead. "This is Mitsuru Kirijo, the leader of our club. And I guess you already know that Yukari here is a part of it too."

"Yeah, whatever." Sakuya replied in a bored manner.

"Look at us when we talk to you!" Mitsuru snapped.

"Yesma'amabsolutely." He spoke very quickly and complied without a moment's hesitation.

Yukari was trying hard not to laugh, amused that the normally steadfast and calm boy was scared out of his pants.

"Shiomi." Mitsuru began, calmer, but still brimming with anger. "I do not appreciate the way you have acted towards us lately. First you assaulted Akihiko without any provocation, then you lied to and stole from us, you went into Tartarus all by yourself and nearly ended up dead, and now you have the gall to act in such a despicable manner despite your circumstances. I would be very careful about my next action if I were you."

Sakuya remained silent, he couldn't be any more careful than that.

The refined girl brushed her neat fringe aside before looking back at her prisoner. "We have much to discuss, you and I. But I am afraid that it will have to wait. School will start in two hours' time, you had best prepare for it now. We visited your apartment and bought you your uniform, schoolbag and toiletries. Get washed and get ready."

"What did you do with my supply bag?" Sakuya asked.

"I was considering giving it back to you. But because of your appalling behaviour, you will not get it back until we are done with you."

Sakuya looked away and grumbled something under his breath, before realising who he was doing that in front of and stopped before he suffered something worse than a slap. "Okay… so what am I supposed to do in school today?"

"We'll be keeping an eye on you, in case you try another disappearing act." Akihiko spoke up, making Sakuya glad that he had something else to focus on apart from Mitsuru's icy gaze. "Go through the day like any other, then meet us in the lobby after school. We'll walk you back here and then we'll ask our questions."

"And in case you try anything unscrupulous, Shiomi," Mitsuru warned, "I will let the school know about your instance of under-age drinking. You already have a history of brawling at your previous high school. Those two subjects do not go together well. And if they believe that to be the reason for you staying out late, then you will either get suspended or expelled."

"Me and my big mouth…" He muttered. "So, I'm under house arrest? What a way to start the year." He then looked down in resignation and motioned for his jailers to leave. "Fine, I'll play by your rules. Now give me some privacy while I get ready."

"Very well then. I hope, for your sake, that you are not lying." Mitsuru concluded before she briskly strode out of the room, not sparing a single moment more.

Akihiko followed suit soon afterwards. Despite the animosity he held for his captive, he had a look of pity on his face. He knew full well that getting on Mitsuru's bad side would only end in pain. Plus, he usually jogged to school in the morning. He needed the extra time to prepare. The last one to leave was Yukari, who first walked up to Sakuya before delivering a slap to the other side of his face that wasn't as damaging as the first one he received, but it still hurt.

"That was for stealing my phone. And for the flirting the other day." She said before storming out, slamming the door behind her.

Both of his cheeks stinging, Sakuya hauled himself up and walked over to his stuff, picking things out with no enthusiasm before heading for the bathroom. Every step of the way, he despaired that he left his MP3 player in the supply bag while he was in Tartarus. He couldn't ease the pain of his situation with the help of his music collection. This turn of events called for a heavy dosage of thrash metal. But since that wasn't an option, he would have to settle with a shower.

* * *

"'Sup Akane, how's it…" Junpei said before he lost any and all ability to speak.

"Hello. Is something wrong Junpei?" Akane asked.

The boy in the blue baseball cap just stood there with his eyes wide and his mouth agape.

"Uh, Junpei?" Akane asked again, receiving no response even when she waved her hand in front of his face. "Hello, earth to Junpei? Why are you making faces?"

"I think that the three of us walking so close together may have something to do with it." A certain blue-haired boy suggested.

That was indeed the case for Junpei and the majority of the students passing by. Sakuya (Cheeks still rosy, but not as much as before thanks to a hot shower) was walking to school with both Yukari and Akane either side of him. They were there on Mitsuru's orders to make sure he didn't run off or misbehave. Yukari was less than enthusiastic and Akane was suspicious of the reasoning behind it. But Mitsuru was still in a foul mood over what happened this morning and would not take no for an answer. So the two of them walked with Sakuya from their dorm to the school. And even though Akane was there for only two days, she was starting to catch up to Yukari as one of the popular girls in the school. Suspicions were certainly raised at the sight of the three walking together.

And if it wasn't suspicious enough already, Yukari kept glancing at Sakuya with contempt. She did that now and again to make sure he didn't try one of his devious escape plans. What she didn't realise is that people could (intentionally) misinterpret this action. Put this and that together and you get a suggestion of a love triangle. The rumour mill was going to have a field day with this, and Sakuya was gladly increasing production with unhelpful comments here and there. For example:

"Dude, what the hell!?" Junpei exclaimed. "You've only been here for two days and you're already walking to school with Yuka-tan and Akane-chan!?"

"I know." Sakuya said in a casual manner with a sly smile forming. "Strange how situations develop, isn't it?"

"Son of a…" Yukari growled in disgust as Junpei gawked even more at the response.

"You okay, Yukari?" Akane asked in concern.

"One day of this." She spat through clenched teeth. "One. Entire. Day."

* * *

Thankfully for Yukari, the girls didn't have to stay by Sakuya's side for every passing second. Akihiko came by and relieved them during the lunch break and watched Sakuya as he once again ate in his usual trance-like state on the roof. So the two girls went down to eat in one of the courtyards outside. They ignored the stares and gossip of the other students and brushed off questions about their relationship with Sakuya. They just wanted to eat their lunch without discussing the subject. Well, Yukari did. If Akane were alone, she would try to disprove the rumours. But she decided to give Yukari some breathing space by not focusing on the subject. Instead, she decided to clear a previous point up.

"Sakuya was the person your friend tried to sort out, right?"

"Huh?" Yukari asked, completely caught off guard. "N-no…"

"You're a terrible liar, Yukari. Nothing you say is going to be plausible after an outburst like that." Akane countered. "Besides, a lot of what you said yesterday matches up with what happened with Sakuya."

Sighing, the girl in pink decided to come clean. "…You're absolutely right. Sakuya is proving to be a handful for us lately. He's pulling all sorts of crazy stunts and he very nearly ended up dying yesterday."

"Dying?" Akane's eyes widened at that. "What exactly was he doing?"

"You know how Mitsuru said it was dangerous to stay out late? Well, Sakuya didn't get the memo and he was up past midnight yesterday. Whatever he was doing tired him out so much that he passed out. Thankfully, someone managed to bring him to our dorm before he could get hurt."

"So… Why isn't he at the faculty office right now?"

"It's, uh, complicated…" There was no way she could reveal that it was a matter only SEES could deal with. Plus, Akane was right when she pointed out that Yukari was bad at lying. There was no way she could think of something plausible on the spot. "I'm afraid I can't explain that right now. Sorry, Akane."

"Oh, right." Was her only response. She seemed a little disappointed by the lack of information.

"Hey, don't worry." Yukari said in an attempt to reassure her. "I know that you have lots of questions, not just regarding Sakuya, I know, but I promise to tell you when the time comes. You have my word."

Akane looked a little sceptical at that, but she smiled after a few seconds. "I'll hold you to that, Yukari. But for now, I'll be patient."

Yukari nodded in response before turning her thoughts to other matters. So much had been kept from Akane lately. SEES, their dorm, the Dark Hour… Yukari just didn't like keeping secrets from Akane. Mainly because she, like most people, didn't like secrets being kept from _her_. Investigating her dad's death got her stonewalled most of the time, so when the opportunity came to work with the Kirijo Group's heir, she didn't hesitate. Only time will tell if she will succeed in her endeavours. But for now, she had to grit her teeth and bear it.

Speaking of gritting her teeth, they still had half the day left. There would undoubtedly be more questions concerning Sakuya and Yukari was already sick of talking about that guy. Of all the people that she had to deal with, he exceeded Junpei on the annoyance scale by a significant fraction. Despite the petty theft and shameless flirting, she will admit that he _is_ a charming guy. But not the kind Yukari was fond of. He was way too extravagant with his gestures and behaviour, plus she got the vibe that he didn't really care about what his actions would bring. He just acted that way because he could, and she couldn't stand it.

_"The sooner that guy is out of my life, the better."_ She thought as she finished off her lunch and made her way back to class. "_There's no way I can go through another two years with him."_

* * *

And later on, it seemed that Mitsuru and Akihiko couldn't last that long either.

Once school ended, Yukari and Akane escorted Sakuya back to the dorm once again, stopping at a coffee shop along the way to grab a drink. The sight of the three of them "hanging out" like this drummed up even more interest from those curious as they went. As soon as they made it back, Akihiko, Mitsuru and Ikutsuki took the captive into the conference room while Yukari excused herself since she felt she deserved a break from the blue-haired rascal.

The interrogation that ensued was, to put it gently, not going well.

"Answer me!" Mitsuru ordered as she slammed her hands down on the table.

Sakuya did nothing but calmly sip his tea with his eyes closed, casually adjusting his shirt's collar after he was done. Now that he was fully awake and comfortable as could be, he wasn't scared of Mitsuru anymore. He didn't even see her as anything to be afraid of. Some might think of this as suicidal behaviour, but Sakuya was confident that he could overcome her now he regained his marbles.

"You said you would play by our rules, so honour your agreement and answer my questions!" Mitsuru demanded again.

"What are you babbling about?" He said casually, looking at Mitsuru with a narrowed gaze and a sly smile. "When I said I'd _"play by your rules"_, I was only talking about the house arrest thing. You should've been more specific."

"Why you piece of…!" Akihiko joined in, standing up and pointing indignantly. "My friend risked a lot to save your life last night!"

"And I nearly ended yours two nights before, in case you forgot. Do you _really_ think this make us even?"

A silent stalemate ensued between the two parties. Mitsuru and Akihiko glared at Sakuya, who returned a sly gaze. Neither side was backing down. The tension in the room was so thick that, never mind the proverbial knife; you would need a diamond-bladed chainsaw to cut through it. So before the situation degenerated any further, Ikutsuki decided to step in.

"Settle down, all of you. This is getting us nowhere."

Reluctantly, the two senior SEES members took their seats again. Sakuya merely took another swig of his tea and turned to Ikutsuki in mild interest.

"Well then, Shiomi-san," the Chairman began, "you have made it abundantly clear that you will not be threatened into talking. So, what exactly would it take for you to explain yourself to us?"

"Two things." Sakuya responded. "Firstly, my bag. I would like back with everything that was inside. More importantly, my music player is in the side pocket. I need it back on my person ASAP."

"I said you could only have that back when we were done with you." Mitsuru countered.

"Look, I can't operate under these conditions. It was hard enough going through my normal routine without being able to drown out the noise running around my head with something else."

"The answer is still no."

Sakuya shrugged and responded in an indifferent tone. "I'm prepared to drag this out for as long as I can. Are you?"

Mitsuru scowled for a few seconds, before she stood up and left for the supply closet where she kept the bag locked up. Two minutes later, she returned with Sakuya's music player in hand. Knowing that he may complain if she threw or slammed it on the table, she decided to place it gently on her end and push it towards him. Sakuya wasted no time in putting his headphones on and played a track. He reclined in his seat, eyes closed and head raised as relished in the ecstasy he got from listening to music. After a few seconds, he switched it off and draped the headphones around his neck.

"Oh yeah… it still works." He said, completely satisfied. He straightened up and looked back to Mitsuru after a pause. "My bag?"

"…It is in your room." Mitsuru replied. "But we can't let you have the sword. That is the property of the Kirijo Group."

"Eh, fair enough. It's got your name on it. And as for my second demand…" He put down his styrofoam cup and leaned forward, hands laced together under his chin. "I want to be released by tomorrow."

The ice queen shook her head. "Out of the question."

"I'm afraid I will have to agree with Mitsuru" Ikutsuki said. "We cannot simply let you go unsupervised since we don't know the limits of your powers. It is simply a risk we cannot take."

"You're far too dangerous." Akihiko added. "Plus, you're too reckless if your time in Tartarus is anything to go by."

Mitsuru remarked how ironic that Akihiko of all people was the one to give that advice, given how he's been heading out on patrol like it's some kind of game. Sakuya, meanwhile, sighed and stood up from his seat, hands in pockets. He kept silent for a few seconds, staring into space before looking Ikutsuki's way.

"The Kirijo Group was originally part of the Nanjo Group, right? Are you still on friendly terms with them?"

"We are. Why do you ask?"

"Then get in touch with Kei Nanjo. Give him this message: _"Dark Blue Moon says hello"._ I'm sure he'll be happy to give all the information you want. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to inventory my loot." Sakuya walked towards the door, placing his headphones back on as he went.

Akihiko was about to intercept him, but Mitsuru grabbed his arm, shaking her head at him. Sakuya left the room unchallenged and made his way downstairs to his room on the second floor, humming along to the tune of the song he played. Akihiko, meanwhile, was indignant that neither Mitsuru nor the Chairman stopped him and was prepared to chase him down.

"Now, now, we at least got _some_ information out of him." Ikutsuki explained. "If he had prior dealings with one of the Kirijo Group's business partners, then it should be easy to find out more about him."

"I know that, but are you just going to stand by while that asshole with a girl's name treats us like dirt!?" Akihiko protested. "Well I can't! I'm going to go down there and teach him a lesson!"

"Akihiko!" Mitsuru snapped while glaring at him. "Do you not realise that he knows your weakness? He struck you with a Bufu spell when you first met. Your Persona is weak to ice and he knows it. Do you really want to get hurt again?"

"So what? I'll be ready this time."

"Like you were ready for him yesterday when he deceived you and Takeba?"

Akihiko clenched his gloved fists and scowled. He knew that Mitsuru was right. There was no way that Sakuya would be an easy opponent. His footwork at the train station and the ease of which he pickpocketed Yukari's phone were testament to that. And although he didn't witness him during sports classes, he suspected that Sakuya was a lot more athletic than he seemed. Then there was the annoying fact of his potential. Mitsuru already gave him the go-ahead to take his earnings from Tartarus. With all the spell gems and recovery items he managed to get his hands on, he would have everything to fend off a Persona user at his disposal.

"Tch, I'm going to get ready for my patrol." He said, storming out of the room.

Mitsuru sighed in relief. Now that her hot-headed partner was reined in somewhat, she could now focus on other matters. She then turned to Ikutsuki. "Mr Chairman, could I leave you to contact Nanjo-san? I have a feeling that I need to observe Shiomi in case he tries something."

"Of course, Mitsuru. I'll get on that right away." He replied, heading for his room at the back after he finished.

While everyone else was preparing for what was to come in the future, Sakuya was dancing around his room, enjoying the one pleasure he was deprived of for the entire day; listening to music. He sang along to the tune of the song he was listening to as he moved about, one that he felt summed up his situation well.

"I want to break free" by Queen.

* * *

In her dreams, Akane was back once again on the same gruesome street of Sumaru City. Everything remained the same as last time, the position of the corpses and wreckage, the imposing planes dropping troops and bombs. The place she stood was the same; ankle-deep in death. Even the fear that took hold at the sight of all this was the same fear she experienced last nightmare.

But there was one noticeable difference; the masked boy.

Instead of overlooking the carnage from the roof of the strangely pristine convenience store, he was right in the middle of the massacre holding a short sword in one hand and a pistol in another. His mask was cracked and his school uniform was tattered and stained with blood. And he stood there in a hunched position, breathing heavily and trying to steady himself. Akane remembered that the boy said he "fought off" the soldiers in black. That was an understatement. He outright slaughtered them.

"What are you doing here?" The boy growled, looking up towards Akane. "Why did you come to find me?"

"This can't be…" Akane said involuntarily. It seemed that she wasn't in control of her actions this time around. "What's happened to you? Why are you killing people?"

"To survive." The boy replied. "And to appease my master."

"And that makes it alright to murder? Take a look around you, is this any way to repay someone? By taking the lives of others?"

"And why not? Master Joker gave me the power to spill blood, so I'm happy to return the favour."

The person Akane was observing from suddenly felt sick. Her breathing became shallow and her skin began to tingle. "No… Y-you wanted the power to kill? Why? W-w-who did you want dead?"

The boy stood up straight and looked towards Akane's character. He lowered both of his weapons and stood tall and proud. He seemed to give an answer, one that didn't reach Akane's ears.

But that didn't stop her character from screaming two seconds after her vision blacked out.

And soon after, she was screaming as well, but she stopped herself when she awoke from her nightmare. Her room had a familiar green tint to it, indicating that she was, once again, visiting Weirdsville at her least favourite time of day. Sighing, she leant forward, closing her eyes as she rubbed her aching forehead.

"Ugh, not another one." She muttered. "And what's with those dreams, anyway? Are they someone's memories, or is there a god out there playing tricks on me?"

"Given what's going on in the world today, I'd say either one's a good theory."

Akane froze, opened her eyes and looked left towards the owner of the mysterious second voice. And to her surprise, she saw a familiar shadowy figure leaning against her wardrobe. Someone wearing a grey turtleneck, black jeans, blue boots and a pair of grey headphones dangling around his neck.

"SAKUYA!?" Akane exclaimed, scooting against the wall as fast as she could. "I know we're on friendly terms, but not to the point where you can just waltz into my room whenever you want!"

Sakuya chuckled, but afterwards held a rare, mute expression on his face. "Sorry to disappoint you, but this isn't a booty call. Get dressed, you're going to have to start running soon."

That, along with the fact that he wasn't perving on her like most boys her age would, surprised Akane a second time. "What do you mean? Are we in danger?"

"In a word: Yes. As I was taking my customary midnight stroll, I noticed that one of our dorm-mates was about to collide head-first with something unpleasant roaming the streets." He replied, stepping away from the wardrobe and making his way to the door. He stopped in front of it and glanced over his shoulder to speak again. "And it will make its way over here when he decides to retreat. In short, you need to be prepared for when it arrives."

"Hang on, Sakuya!" Just as he reached out for the handle, Akane sprinted out of bed and clamped her hand on his shoulder. "What exactly is coming after us? What is going on?"

"The same thing that happens in this city every night, Akane." He turned back to her with a grim look on his face. "A time when Man becomes prey for the darkness that is apathy."

* * *

**Author's Note**

Aaaand… this note marks the end of my first revamp. I'm glad I took time to review my old stuff before moving on, I think the whole story fared better for my changes.

I would've put an alcohol warning at the top of the page, but since it was somewhat anti-drinking, I don't think it matters that much.

And yes, Sakuya DID feel up Mitsuru and saw Akane in her jammies. It wouldn't be Persona without something vaguely kinky happening now and again, wouldn't it? [Insert dirty chuckle here]


	5. Awaken, my Persona!

**Chapter 5 – Awaken, my Persona!**

* * *

Before I begin, I would like to give a big thanks to the guys/girls who faved and followed this story. I'm glad I could keep you interested, and with careful planning and a little luck, I'll keep things interesting 'til this story ends.

* * *

"Anything to report?" Ikutsuki asked as he walked into the command room and took a seat behind the girls.

"No, she's still sleeping" Yukari replied, looking away from the monitor displaying a real-time feed of Akane's bedroom. "Same story with Sakuya."

"It's interesting how they managed to last so long in the Dark Hour despite arriving in Iwatodai only a few days ago. Any normal person would not be able to stay asleep as long as they can, let alone keep their sanity with the random memory losses and overwhelming terror that this hour brings."

"I can understand Shiomi, seeing as how he somehow managed to tap into his potential," Mitsuru added, "but not in Arisato's case. As far as we can tell, there was nothing to suggest the reason for her remarkable endurance."

"Still…" Yukari said as she looked away. "It feels bad to treat them like guinea pigs. Sakuya may have had it coming, but…"

"He's gone!" Mitsuru exclaimed.

All eyes turned towards the monitor, which showed Sakuya's with an empty bed, the curtains drawn back and the window open. A minute ago, he was sleeping peacefully in his bed, but now was absent from his cell. Yukari quickly scrolled through the other camera feeds, but they showed no signs of their blue-haired captive.

"He was asleep, right there a few seconds ago! How could he just disappear like that!?" Yukari exclaimed as she once again returned the feed to his room. "Don't tell me he just jumped out of his window…!"

"I'll get a hold of Akihiko, Takeba, you…"

**"YAAAAAAAH!"**

Mitsuru's command was cut off by a sudden scream emanating from the floor below. Quick as she could, Yukari quickly switched the feed to Akane's room, where the auburn-haired girl was slowly recovering from her nightmare. And sure enough, their walkabout lodger was leaning casually against the wall. Everyone witnessed Akane scoot away from him as soon as he made his presence known. Ikutsuki looked a little unnerved by this turn of events. The two girls, on the other hand:

"How dare he." Mitsuru spat, clenching her hands into tight fists. "Is there no vile depth to which he will not stoop?"

"Why that…" Yukari hissed before quickly rising up from her seat. "I'm going straight down there and I'm going to make him regret the day he ever…!

_"Sorry to disappoint you, but this isn't a booty call. Get dressed, you're going to have to start running soon."_

Any and all anger was quickly derailed when Sakuya said that. The girls decided to keep on watching, eager to know what he meant.

_"As I was taking my customary midnight stroll, I noticed that one of our dorm-mates was about to collide head-first with something unpleasant roaming the streets. And it will make its way over here when he decides to retreat. In short, you need to be prepared for when it arrives."_

"What is he…?" Yukari muttered before it suddenly dawned on her. "Oh no… He's talking about Akihiko-senpai!"

"I'll contact him right away!" Mitsuru's hands flew over the console in a desperate attempt to establish contact. "Akihiko! Report your status at once!"

_"Mitsuru!?"_ Responded the confused boxer. _"I was just about to call you! You're not going to believe the size of the Shadow chasing me at the moment! It's too much for me to handle, so I'll see you soon!"_

"He's bringing that thing HERE!?" Yukari exclaimed out of fright after the transmission cut off.

Mitsuru quickly turned to Ikutsuki. "Mr Chairman, we'll suspend our observation for now and prepare for combat."

"R-right! Be careful!" He replied sheepishly.

"Takeba, keep an eye out for Shiomi. We may need his help."

"…Alright." She hesitantly agreed, not wanting to resort to those measures yet aware that she may have to. "He should still be in the building, we'll bump into him eventually."

* * *

Guess what? They didn't bump into him.

Not when they charged downstairs to aid a wounded Akihiko, not when he and Mitsuru went outside to deal with the attacking Shadow, not when Yukari went up to the third floor to evacuate Akane who managed to throw on her uniform in time, nor when they found out that the inky-black monster attacking the dorm bought some friends with it and was on the other side of the emergency exit they tried to escape from, or when they had to charge back up to the roof in order to escape. Sakuya was nowhere to be found. But given the situation, this was the least of the girls' concerns as that particular moment.

Yukari hurriedly locked the rooftop's door behind her to buy some time, both of the girls still gasping for breath. Akane paused, leaning against the naginata she was given for self-defence as she tried to restore some of her energy, but it seemed like her body was not as co-operative as it usually was. She suspected that it was because of the strange green time, given how tired she felt when she first arrived at the dorm. She also wondered what exactly was chasing them. Yukari didn't explain and Akane decided to go with the flow because of the apparent danger they were in. But that still didn't stop the rampant questions from running around her head.

_"Speaking of running, are we really safe on the roof?"_ She thought before putting the question to Yukari when she gained enough breath to do so. "So, what now? Where do we go from here?"

"The fire escape." Yukari replied, catching her breath as she leaned against the door. "If that thing is still inside the building, then we can… AH!"

It turns out that Yukari spoke too soon. The thing chasing them wasn't chasing them inside the building, it was climbing up the outside. One inky-black hand grasped the lip of the roof, another bought up its head; which consisted a blue mask. It took a quick look around before even more hands rose from the edge to pull itself up. The creature in question was a most disturbing one: a writhing mass of arms known as the Magician. With half of its limbs it walked forward, the other half held the mask and brandished three-foot long blades that it held aloft in anticipation as it slowly crept along towards its intended victims.

"That monster… we call it a Shadow." Yukari explained, more focused than before. As she stepped forward, her right hand went to the holster on her thigh and bought out her Evoker, which she then pressed against her forehead.

"Yukari!?" Akane exclaimed upon seeing what many would interpret as a suicide attempt. "Look, stay positive! We'll make it out alive if we try!"

"I can summon mine, no problem…" She muttered as she shakily tried to pull the trigger. Akane's words failed to reach her. "I… I just need to…"

Before she could work up the nerve, the Magician did something unexpected. It threw one of its blades at Yukari.

The girl in pink froze in terror. It took so much from her to even _attempt_ to pull the trigger of her gun, but this spontaneous action pushed her fear over the limit and her entire body seized up. Despite Akane yelling at her to duck while dropping her weapon as she dashed to knock her out of the way, all Yukari could do was stare straight ahead at the blade that would soon impale her through the face.

But she managed to snap out of the trance when someone in dark clothing appeared in front of her just before the blade hit home. Someone with blue hair.

Yukari collapsed to her knees from sheer mental exhaustion, dropping her gun from her limp hands. Akane, meanwhile, screeched to a halt when she processed the scene that unfolded before her. Sakuya came out of nowhere, leapt in front of Yukari and stopped the blade before it hit.

With his bare hands.

_"A naked blade capture!?"_ She thought as she saw the angular blade caught firmly between Sakuya's palms. _"He stopped it so near his eye… How is that even possible!?"_

Sakuya smiled as usual as he moved the pointy object away from his face and stood up straight, inspecting the blade visually before testing the sharpness with the tip of his finger, doing a few practice swings, twirling it around and tossing it casually between his hands. "Hmm, the blade is a bit heavy, and it's not as balanced as the short sword Little Miss Kirijo confiscated. But hey, it's a weapon. I'm not complaining."

He then flipped the blade around, grasping it firmly in a reverse grip in his right hand. As he did this, he assumed a relaxed stance with his left hand on his hip, thumb inside his pocket. He then turned towards the Magician, eyes narrowing and mouth forming a somewhat sadistic grin. The Shadow responded by pulling a replacement blade out from behind its mask and locking "eyes" with its new opponent. Both of them stood perfectly still, sizing each other up.

_"I've never seen anyone look that pleased before."_ Akane noted as she observed Sakuya. _"He looks eager to shed blood…"_

"Hey, Akane." Sakuya said in a calm yet expectant voice, snapping her out of her thoughts. "Take a break, I've got this under control."

"What!? You can't really be thinking about fighting that thing!" She exclaimed.

"It's either that or running away for another forty minutes. And let's be honest, neither of you are in any shape to do anything. So, take a break and get your strength back."

"…Alright." She said reluctantly, stepping towards Yukari to defend her if need be.

Not once in that conversation did Sakuya turn around to talk to her. His gaze was fixed solely on the Magician, who likewise held its gaze while its many arms swayed in anticipation. Then all of a sudden, Sakuya charged forward and swung his blade at the Shadow's mask.

**CLANG!**

His sudden assault was stopped as his foe blocked with all six blades. Even so, he kept on putting force behind his strike and soon both sets of weapons were locked together in a sharp embrace. The Magician slightly tilted its mask clockwise, bemused at how a simple human was able to match its strength and not get forced backwards more than a few inches. And it wasn't the only one. The girls were also bemused by the blue-haired youth's feat of strength. Yukari forgot all about using her Evoker and kept watching the duel.

With a smirk, Sakuya slipped his blade free, ducked under the thrashing swords and dashed to the left. The multi-armed monster responded by swinging wildly at its attacker while the mask twisted around to keep track of him. But Sakuya was too quick for him. He circled around the stationary Magician, scouting out his opponent's capabilities by delivering his own slashes in return, dodging and parrying the return blows as he went. Despite the din of the fight, his mind calmly processed the information it received.

_"No co-ordination between each attack," _He mused throughout the deadly dance, _"it's as though each hand has a mind of its own and simply lashes out. This thing's bigger and tougher, but no different to any Shadow I fought in Tartarus. Heh, this should be easy."_

Upon thinking that last line, the agitated Magician proved him wrong by performing yet another unexpected action. All of its sword arms reared up at once and bought every blade down in a hammer blow, cracking the ground as a small crater formed directly where Sakuya was standing. Good thing he jumped to the side, then.

Things weren't so great for the Shadow, however. As soon as its attack missed, Sakuya retaliated with one of his own when he made it to a safe distance. He tossed his sword to his left hand, and placed his right against the left side of his face with only the fingertips touching his chin, forehead, and the edge of his eye socket. He then turned his head left, gazing at his target as a sadistic smile formed on his lips.

Akane gasped in surprise. She saw someone pose like that before and knew what to expect.

"Let's go, Seth."

A shining white aura formed around Sakuya in a circle, from which a mirage-like entity drifted out of. As it rose to hover above Sakuya, it stood upright and proud, like an arrogant king. Gradually, the mirage gained focus that defined its true form.

It was a tall, lean and muscular humanoid with a mechanical appearance. It had the body of a human cast in a rusty blue metal with bronze lines highlighting the muscles. In the centre of the torso was the Egyptian hieroglyph "Was" in the form of a glowing blue symbol outlined in bronze that resembled a staff. Both of the hands and forearms were shaped like angular brass gauntlets with curved, jagged talons in place of fingers. The legs also featured similar brass greaves, the angular feet curling upwards at the toe. Each of the brass mechanical ball joints were bare, separating each of the limbs. And the black metal head was that of a fanged jackal with red eyes, adorned with a red and bronze crown resembling the hood of a king cobra: the Uraeus.

And when it spoke, a booming, dominating voice echoed all around with underlying malice in its tone.

_I am thou…_

_Thou art I…_

_I am Seth, god of storms and chaos…_

_Let thine foes tremble before the searing heat of my wrath…_

"No way…!" Yukari managed to exclaim despite her emotionally overwhelmed state. "He can summon his without an Evoker!?"

The Magician was also surprised by the arrival of the ancient storm god. Sakuya capitalised on this opportunity and motioned with his right hand for Seth to attack. He charged forwards, floating through the air towards his target. Out of instinct, the Magician lashed out with one of its blades. This was a terrible mistake, for Seth nimbly dodged it and raked his claws across the arm, severing it in five places. The startled Magician then waved all of its blades defensively, though his opponent was more cautious and calculating. With four more well-timed strikes, all of the weapon-bearing arms were severed.

Sakuya dismissed Seth, grinning like a madman as he watched his foe squirm. It moved its mask in a panicked frenzy, looking from the stumps of its arms, to the severed hands thrashing on the floor, and to the smug Sakuya over and over again. It simply could not believe that something like this could happen.

Not wanting to pass up such a perfect opportunity to finish the battle, Sakuya charged forward and vaulted off of the Shadow's body, gaining extra height as the arms instinctively moved to throw him off. As he fell back down, he flipped around stylishly and raised his blade up to strike down at the erratic mask as it looked upwards at the sneering teenager. This extraordinary feat earned gasps of surprise from the two girls.

**SHIK!**

Which suddenly turned to cries of horror a second later.

The Magician countered Sakuya's assault with yet another spontaneous action. It used two of its good hands to grasp two of its fallen blades and thrust them upwards defensively. The result was one skewered teenager, one blade in his left shoulder and the other in his gut. Upon noticing the result, the Magician violently swung Sakuya downwards, dislodging him from the blades and sending him crashing down on his back four feet away from the girls.

"SAKUYA!" She screamed as she moved over to his side.

"Aw, hell. That… agh… is what you get for being a show-off." He joked through the pain, pressing down on his gut wound with his good hand. "Looks like it's your show now, Akane."

"Me? Wh-what can I do?" Akane fretted.

"That gun-thing… _*cough*,_ Use it. Yukari's too confused to help…"

Looking over her shoulder, Akane realised that Sakuya was right. Yukari's mind as too muddled from this encounter to be of any help. And to make matters worse, the Shadow was growing new arms from the stumps and reequipping itself. It would be on them at any second.

Swallowing her fear, Akane got up and walked over to the discarded Evoker. She looked at it hesitantly as swarms of doubts plagued her decision, before she got a brief vision of the boy in prison clothes once more, encouraging her to continue. So with another nervous gulp, she picked up the gun and placed the barrel against her temple, finger primed to pull the trigger. The Magician was back in working order and moved a lot more cautiously this time, slowly edging towards its victims. It no longer deemed Sakuya to be a threat and turned its attention to the only one standing: Akane.

Taking deep breaths, the red-eyed girl slowly worked up the nerve to fire the gun. Before pulling the trigger, she muttered the first word that came to mind:

"Per… so… na."

**BANG!**

* * *

Waiting around in a hospital lobby for news of your friend's or loved one's condition is held by many to be one of the most nerve-wracking experiences. Tonight was no exception for the members of SEES, who were busy waiting for news about Akihiko, injured running away from the Magician. Then there was Akane, who lapsed into a coma soon after her Persona's awakening. And finally Sakuya, who was stabbed and had his back broken when he was flung to the ground, though insisted there was nothing wrong with him because of a few steps he took afterwards. Mitsuru, Yukari and Ikutsuki waited in the lounge of Tatsumi Memorial Hospital in silence as the doctors did their work.

After Akane summoned her effeminate male Persona that turned into bigger and angrier Persona that proceeded to turn the Magician into mincemeat, before that Persona reverted back to the original Persona, which then, under Akane's control, bashed the living daylights out of the two weaker shadows spawned from the Magician's corpse, Akane collapsed unconscious from the sheer mental exhaustion instead of jumping up and down Final Fantasy style.

Sakuya had hauled himself up and was kneeling next to Yukari with an uncharacteristic look of concern on his face. Akane's unresponsiveness troubled him as well, but to a noticeably lesser extent than Yukari. He tried to use one of his Revival Beads to wake her up, but that had no effect. When the others came up to investigate, they received quite a shock when their resident antagonist was helping them. Not once did he mislead them when he explained the situation, nor did he jump at the opportunity to attack SEES while they were crippled. Sakuya simply followed orders in order to help all those injured as the ambulance took them to the hospital once the Dark Hour ended.

So while they waited, Mitsuru decided to figure out more about Sakuya to deduce his motives. "Mr Chairman, did you get the file from Nanjo-san yet?"

"I'm afraid not." Replied Ikutsuki, pushing his glasses up before continuing. "Though I did notice that he was surprised when I told him of this _"Dark Blue Moon"_ Sakuya mentioned. After that, he promised to get the files together as soon as possible and send them over to me. However, with all the red tape and the Dark Hour delaying things, we should not expect any results until tomorrow."

Mitsuru nodded. "I expected as much. Accessing or distributing old files usually takes time, even when you hold the power of heir to the company."

"And what do you intend to do about Sakuya?"

"Despite what he's said and done so far, I don't trust him. We need to be certain about his motives before we do anything else, so we should keep him in our custody to be on the safe side."

"I agree, keeping him where we can see him is the best course of action." Ikutsuki nodded, before looking towards a door swinging open. "Ah, it seems a verdict has been reached."

The tall doctor with strawberry-blonde hair tied in a ponytail strode out of the emergency room, adjusting her glasses as she went. All three of the SEES members got up and walked towards her. Yukari, however, was so anxious with worry over her fellow students that she practically ran there.

"How are they doing?" She asked worriedly.

"It's a good thing you guys called us up when you did." The doctor explained. "Mr Sanada has broken three ribs on his left side, any further exertion on his part and they would've pierced his lung. He'll have to stay in hospital for a while for his bones to re-align. As for Mr Shiomi…"

"Like I told you earlier," Sakuya interrupted, pulling his sweater back down as he walked past the doctor, "I'm perfectly fine. There's no need for me to stay here."

The doctor glared at him. "You should be thankful I even bothered to check. That fall you suffered could've lead to injuries as bad as, or worse, than Mr Sanada's."

"Fine, whatever makes you feel better about wasting time and resources." He grumbled dejectedly as he looked away in frustration.

Mitsuru shot her trademarked icy glare at Sakuya to accompany the doctor's look of disgust. But since he didn't react to them, she decided to move the conversation on. "And what about Arisato? Is she okay?"

The doctor looked back to her. "Well… That's hard to explain. She is definitely out cold, but so far there's nothing to suggest why. No external trauma, no abnormalities in her vitals. Blood test have yet to come back, so we don't know if she's been drugged or has some kind of infection. Apart from that, nothing appears to be wrong. It's… as though she's fallen into a deep sleep. That's the best explanation I can come up with at this moment in time."

Sakuya nodded his head at that last part, but unlike his previous actions, this one was without sarcasm. Mitsuru took note of that, but was distracted by the sudden appearance of someone else coming from the ER before she could follow it up. Namely, a shirtless Akihiko with bandages wrapped around his chest.

"Didn't I tell you to stay put until I returned?" The doctor asked indignantly.

Since shrugging would've caused pain, Akihiko held his hands out to imitate one. "I can manage walking around for a bit, that shouldn't put too much strain on my ribs. Besides, I need to talk with them for a moment."

The doctor paused, before sighing in resignation and walked back, mumbling something under her breath about getting hardest patients to control of her career. Mitsuru then turned to glare at Akihiko, causing him to flinch slightly.

"What? What's wrong?" He asked.

"You should be more careful with your condition, Akihiko." She practically shouted back. "Your reckless behaviour earned those injuries, do you really want to hurt yourself any further?"

"Sheesh, calm down Mitsuru." He backed off. "I just want to set some things straight before anything else happens." He then turned to the blue-haired student with annoyance. "First of all, I would like to know how you got out of there unscathed while I have to wear these bandages."

Sakuya shrugged. "It's harder for a Persona user to heal outside of battle situations, since your mind isn't focused on keeping your body in its optimum working form. For example, I healed myself right as Akane put the gun to her head, before the conditioning wore off."

Akihiko grunted in frustration. "Then if I had summoned Polydeuces before I ran away…"

"You would've be in the morgue instead." Sakuya finished in a matter-of-fact tone.

The boxer shot another glare and pointed indignantly. "Oh yeah? I'd like to see _you_ try better in a similar situation!"

"Give it a few days, maybe I will."

"That's enough, you two!" Mitsuru commandeered the conversation before turning to Sakuya with a slight hint of disgust on her face. She was still mad about the groping yesterday. "When the doctor mentioned Arisato's condition, you seemed to know more behind what was causing it. Explain."

He seemingly ignoring her cold treatment and complied. "My guess is she passed out from the strain of summoning her Personae. Everyone gets exhausted first time they summon theirs, but the second one that appeared? It tore itself right out of Orpheus and raged out of control. I'm surprised that she managed to stay awake after the big Shadow bit the dust."

"And… you're sure about this?" Ikutsuki asked warily.

"Common sense. Surely you've noticed how tired people get after the first summon…?"

"Well, I can't say since I can't summon a Persona…" The Chairman said, somewhat embarrassed.

"And… uh…" Yukari forced herself to speak. "I haven't… actually awoken mine yet…"

Instead of a witty retort, Sakuya looked on in sympathy. "I'm not surprised. You guys literally blow your Personae out of your brains with a pistol-shaped device. I don't see how that _can't_ be considered scary the first time around."

Both Yukari and Akihiko were taken back by this sudden display of kindness. In all the time they knew Sakuya (About three days now), all he did was give them grief. And now here he was, explaining things to them in detail and sympathising with them, without a trace of his usual smile on his face. This sudden change of pace was too unnerving for them. Thankfully for them, Mitsuru helped shake their confusion off when she asked another question.

"Speaking of which, how are you able to summon a Persona without using an Evoker?"

"Oh, that?" He responded in a plain voice. "I played a game in middle school, and Seth just appeared."

"You… what now?" Yukari asked, naturally confused by the statement.

"I played something called the Persona game. It was an occult game that was somewhat popular back in the nineties. You play with three friends, one in each corner of the room…" He stood in the corner of the waiting lounge as he explained. "…Then the first guy chants: _"Persona, Persona, please come to me."_ After that, he walks to the person in the corner on his right…" He demonstrated. "…and stops to tap them on the shoulder. Everyone repeats the process until the corners are filled again."

He then turned back to the onlookers and took a slight bow. "Then BAM, instant Persona."

Utter silence was the only response he got from his befuddled audience.

"What, you don't believe me?" He asked, annoyed. "Ask Kei Nanjo. That's how he and his high school buddies got their Personae."

Once more, utter silence.

Sakuya facepalmed while groaning in frustration and began walking out the room. "Give me a break… I might as well go to sleep. See you back at the dorm."

"Hold on!" Akihiko stopped Sakuya's advance by clamping his hand on his shoulder, who looked back with a bored look on his face. "First you antagonise us, and now you're helping? What's behind the sudden change of heart?"

"Akane, of course." Sakuya replied, turning around to hide his expressions. "I've never met her before our school term started. But… I have this strange feeling that we know each other."

"What makes you think that?" Mitsuru asked, curious about his reasoning.

"I've been having… vivid nightmares, lately. Ones that are strangely similar to hers from what I know. I just want to figure out what they mean. And it seems she's the only other person who knows." He then gently shrugged Akihiko's hand from his shoulder before walking off again. "I suspect you've got an information overload by now. Let's talk about this some other time."

The members of SEES simply stood there and watched him leave, trying to make sense of all that was said. Nobody spoke until they were sure he was out of earshot.

"Anyone else think he's screwing with us?" Akihiko asked out loud.

"I get what you're saying." Yukari replied. "I don't trust that guy. But at the same time, I've got this feeling that he's really trying to help us."

"It's probably shock." Ikutsuki suggested. "Sakuya is friendly with Akane, after all. As for the other things he said…"

"I am not sure what to think either." Mitsuru interrupted as she re-joined the group. "But I'm afraid I'll have to agree with Shiomi. We've been through so much this night, anything else can wait another day. Let's head back to the dorm, we'll return tomorrow to check up on Akihiko and Arisato."

"I'll be fine, Mitsuru." Akihiko replied, his voice full of forced vigour. "This is nothing but a…"

An icy glare cut him off. "_You_ may not think that injury is anything to worry about, but I would rather let someone with medical training make any judgments regarding your health. Do I make myself clear?"

"Oh, all right." Akihiko grumbled as dejectedly waited for the others to go before returning to the doctor.

* * *

**DRIP...**

**DRIP...**

**DRIP...**

Sakuya was standing once more in the apartment he and his parents once lived in. He recognised the old carpet with a pattern comprised of multi-coloured rectangles, the horrible beige paint on the walls, the layout of the furniture they had, the pictures of him and his extended family at the various gatherings attended, his framed music certificates, everything was in place and as it remembered it.

Apart from the corpses of his parents, that is.

They were both lying on the floor, with horrific wounds covering their bodies and their blood staining the ground and the walls crimson. Sakuya was alarmed at this sight, this wasn't how it went before. From what he remembered, he blacked out after the ceiling collapsed and a high-voltage cable snapped and fried them. Instead, it appeared they were savaged to death by something. Or someone.

Sakuya was hyperventilating as he looked down on the bodies, adrenaline coursed through his veins as he observed the carnage at his feet. From his peripheral vision of the nearby mirror, he saw that he wore the same casual outfit he did at that age, a grey polo shirt, black dress pants and white socks, all of which were coated with the blood of his parents. His focus then shifted to his body as slowly, he raised his blood-stained hands up. Compared to the rest of his body, his hands had a thicker coating of the red substance. There were even traces of foreign flesh around his hands. And as if to confirm his suspicions, he suddenly looked closer at the corpses. They were savagely ripped apart.

There were no other suspects in the room.

All of a sudden, applause and a hearty bellow erupted from behind him. "BRILLIANT!"

Whirling around, he came face to face with a tall, ominous figure dressed in black. He wore a double-breasted coat with golden buttons, a red scarf that bore the gold design of a rose enclosed within a diamond shape, a white mask that resembled a lion with a gold outline and a large red gem in its forehead, and had messy white hair billowing from the back of his head like a mane. Sakuya knew this man, he knew it from the memories his master returned to him. He was a man who went by the name of King Leo.

"You have certainly outdone yourself, boy!" King Leo praised as his clapping died down. "Master Joker was right to keep an eye on you. The way you used your granted wish turned out better than expected! Of all the people you decided to try it out on first, you chose your parents. Most commendable."

"You… are happy with me?" Sakuya asked, not in control of his actions.

"Of course!" Leo replied, a sadistic grim forming behind his mask. "Because you have been such a good boy, Joker to help you."

"Are you going to help me kill everyone I want?"

"Even better!" The King said with a chuckle. "Tell me, did you like killing your parents? Was it fun?"

Sakuya looked right at that moment, towards the full-length mirror that hung on the wall there. He looked straight at the reflection of his blood-stained face. He had a vacant, hollow expression. In his mind, he was still shaken by the way he tore his parents to pieces. He slowly recalled the events that happened a few seconds ago, remembering the kills with every detail. And as he recalled them, he was somewhat pleased by what he did. A smile started forming on his face. He then turned eagerly back to the man with the lion mask and gave a one-word response:

"Yes!"

Upon hearing that, King Leo exploded with a short bout of gleeful laughter. "Excellent! I like those who are eager to get their hands dirty! Very well, boy. I'll help you. But in return, you've got to do a few things for my little club…"

"You have a club?" Sakuya asked eagerly.

"Yea, it's a very special club. We like to call it…"

Everything snapped to black in an instant, any further actions were hidden from his eyes. But before the macabre dream ended, King Leo's last words reached Sakuya's ears.

"_The Masked Circle_."

As the last words echoed out of existence, Sakuya immediately bolted upright in his bed. He was sweating and hyperventilating, a result of the vivid dream that he saw.

No… It felt more like the dream was forced on him.

Looking towards his alarm clock, he noticed that he woke up twenty minutes earlier than usual. As soon as he processed that bit of information his body started to relax, settling into its usual rhythm as his mind shook off the terror. Groaning while massaging his aching temples, he swung his feet out of bed, disabled his alarm and drained the cup of water he had placed at the head of his bed in one go.

_"Speak of the devil and he shall appear… Or screwy dreams, in this case."_ He mentally complained as he lazily replaced the cup on its coaster. _"What is up with them anyway? They always turn my memories inside-out… I could've sworn I didn't lay a finger on my parents, and yet there's King Leo giving me the full Olympic Awards Ceremony as though I _did_ tear them apart. I don't recall using the rumour system to get that kind of power…"_

He then quickly tensed up again as a thought struck him. _"Wait. Did I really meet King Leo when my parents died? Was he even _there _in the first place?"_

_**"****Getting cold feet, boy?"**_

Sakuya slowly turned around to the source of the familiar voice. And to his utter surprise, there was King Leo himself standing before him. But there were a few noticeable differences. First of all, he was transparent. Secondly, there was a smoky black aura surrounding him.

He grunted at the spectre with indifference. _"Finally decided to talk with me, eh?"_ He thought, since he wasn't sure how the others would react if they found him talking to himself.

Leo laughed. _**"You talkin' about your little chat with The Reaper? Sorry, but the only thing we have in common is our dress sense. You see, that guy's a new enforcer for the boss. He makes sure everything goes to plan, keeps all the good gear to himself so it can't be used against us, and hunts down those who stand in the way."**_

The King then brushed some imaginary lint off the cuff of his coat._** "I'm guessing he looks like me since I was one of the most well-known and faithful servants. Puts the fear riiiiight into people's skulls. You get my meaning?"**_

_"The only thing I don't get is why you're floating around here."_

_**"****Ain't it obvious? I'm dead." **_He then turned towards Sakuya with a sinister smile visible through his mask's mouth. _**"But that doesn't mean I'm useless. All the time we spent together left an impression on your little brain. You could say I'm just a figment of your imagination formed out of your memories."**_

_"So, you're a Remnant Psyche?"_

_**"****Oh… you clown." **_The spectre shook his head in despair. _**"You've been playing **_**way**_** too much Killer7."**_

Sakuya chuckled. _"I can just imagine seeing your disembodied head in a tumble drier. No, scratch that. Calling you _"Susie"_ would be too weird."_

With a growl, King Leo decided to move the conversation on. _**"Long story short, I'm here to give you a friendly prod now and again. Keep you on the right track. I'm going to follow you around from today. Try not to make a scene whenever I turn up."**_

With a sarcastic bow, King Leo faded from view. _**"See you around, boy."**_

Sakuya sat there for a few minutes more, processing what just happened. He was somewhat glad to see a familiar face with him again, but at the same time, he wished that King Leo would stay in his memories. Things were hard enough to figure out without a ghost from his (supposed) past showing up every now and again to give help like a murderous version of Navi the Fairy.

With a sigh, he got out of bed and went to pick out his clothes for the day. _"I've got a feeling that this trend of confusion is going to last a long time…"_

* * *

**Author's note**

So… much… dialogue…

Well, it's a good thing I moved this fanfic into the drama category.

Anyway, we finally got to see Sakuya's Persona. It wasn't Reverse Orpheus like most people would expect from a reversed main character. I decided to use Seth of the Moon arcana instead. It's interesting how the Egyptian god is never portrayed as anything but a demon in the entire Megami Tensei franchise. So I decided to spice things up and portray him as what most people would expect to see from first impressions of the storm god: a cunning, savage beast that tears his foes apart with no mercy. It also makes a change from the amount of screen time the Ancient Greek myths get in the Persona series.

I also tried to make up a reason for The Reaper's physical appearance and why he attacks the heroes in the Persona games. Surely the bringer of Death has a reason for hunting down teenagers or being an evil Jack-In-The-Box?

As for King Leo? His ghostly appearance is supposed to play off the Moon Arcana's motif. More of that will be explained as the story progresses.

Oh, and that stuff about Killer7? It's an obscure video game that likes to confuse the heck outta everyone who plays it. The "Remnant Psyches" are ghostly images of the people the main characters have killed, pretty similar to how I explained King Leo's appearance. And as for the disembodied head of Susie in the drier... Don't try to make sense of it. It's better for your sanity if you don't.


	6. Day of Discovery

**Chapter 6 – Day of Discovery**

* * *

Yukari sat next to the hospital bed containing the sleeping figure of Akane Arisato. This was her second day visiting after the Magician's attack. The doctors who looked after the sleeping young lady reached the same conclusions as the emergency response doctor, they couldn't find anything wrong with her. She just continued to sleep, completely oblivious to whatever went on outside of her mind. If anything, it reminded Yukari of the princesses of western fairy tales, who fell into eternal slumber from a witch's curse. Still, no matter how she painted the scenario, it didn't stop her from feeling regret after what happened that night.

Her duty was to protect Akane and get her to safety, but she failed to accomplish either task. She fell victim to the fear that immobilised her entire being whenever she tried to use her Evoker. No matter what she did to prepare herself, her mind kept on screaming: "It's a gun! Don't kill yourself!" And every time, she failed to pull the trigger and awaken her Persona. Yukari cursed herself for this. She let her fears overwhelm her that night.

And when Sakuya leapt in to save them, her mind completely froze up from the confusion. She was confused as to why the one boy who gave her more grief in three days than Junpei did in all the time she knew him decided to help. And how he, Persona or no, was able to fight like a demon and lose only due to his own cockiness. And when that happened, there was nothing stopping Akane from turning the mock gun on herself. To her, Yukari had failed her first mission as a member of SEES.

She clenched her hands tight as she looked at Akane with tears obscuring her vision. _"I… I'm useless." _She thought as she looked on. _"I wasn't there to help you, to stop you from ending up like this… I'm sorry… Akane…"_

Before she could beat herself up any more over the incident, the sound of the room's door sliding open interrupted her thoughts. She looked up, and to her surprise, found Sakuya standing in the doorway with two brown paper bags in his hand and a forlorn look on his face. He wasn't smiling as he usually did.

Now that she thought of it, Yukari didn't see a single genuine smile on his face since Akane was hospitalised. At school, his normally gleeful expression looked forced and instead of assuming a mute smile as he worked, he dropped it completely. His interactions with the other students were half-hearted, too. Another notable change was that the normally open jacket was zipped up. Yukari suspected that this was because Sakuya's uncanny skill of eating with his eyes closed was failing him, if the specks of soy sauce staining his collar was anything to go by.

It was clear to Yukari that Sakuya was also affected by this turn of events on some level. Normally, she kept her guard up and was filled with disgust whenever she saw the blue-haired menace. But ever since his change of attitude towards her and SEES, she began to doubt her perception of him. Just like now, as he strode over to the other side of Akane's bed and looked at Yukari dejectedly.

"Still no change?" He asked in a deadpan voice.

Yukari dried her eyes shook her head. "No. The doctors didn't notice anything different."

Sakuya sighed and turned his gaze towards the sleeping girl. "Y'know, I kinda blame myself for this."

That caused the girl in pink to look up in amazement. "W-what makes you say that?"

"I was too busy being a show-off. I could've used Seth to kill that Shadow easily. But no, I wanted to finish it with style." He then sighed and looked away. "Why do I keep forgetting that human opponents are much more susceptible to that stuff...?"

He then noticed out of the corner of his eye that Yukari was looking at him in confusion. She obviously didn't take a peek at his school file or the documents the Nanjo group have on him. Then again, the latter probably didn't turn up yet. So he cleared his throat and answered the unspoken question. "I got into a few fights at my last school. That's why I'm doing my second and third years here."

"Oh… I see." Was Yukari's only response. That response only half-answered the reason why he was able to fight so well. She decided not to push it, though, seeing how visually shaken he was. "Anyway… You shouldn't blame yourself too much."

Sakuya raised an eyebrow at her comment. "Shouldn't I be the one telling you that?"

"Probably... But, you handled yourself better in that situation than I could've done. You actually managed to damage that Shadow while I… I…" She almost couldn't bring herself to say the words out of embarrassment, but managed to admit it after a long pause. She couldn't look at either of the room's other occupants when she said: "I was too scared to do anything."

An awkward pause followed. Yukari was swamped by sorrow after admitting the truth, she was too scared to save even one person. And she regretted it. Seeing her tear up again, Sakuya exhaled heavily and gave a response.

"I'd be surprised if you _weren't_ scared." Those words caused the brunette to snap her head back up in surprise. "Your dorm gets attacked by demon-like monsters wearing masks, you get chased by a bigger monster that wouldn't look out of place in a hentai manga, and end up having to choose between death by said monster or living by shooting yourself in the head." Sakuya then smiled sympathetically, the first genuine smile in two days. "Sounds scary to me."

Despite all that was going on in her mind, Yukari couldn't help but smile at that comment. But then it turned to a confused look soon after. She caught the blue-haired boy glaring momentarily at something next to her. His gaze was full of annoyance. The confused girl couldn't see anything when she turned to look. Plus, the blind was closed. He couldn't have been staring at something outside the window. Yukari was trying to figure out the reasons for his sudden mood swing…

**WHAP!**

…and was caught by surprise when he casually chucked one of his bags onto the bedside table to her right.

"I bought her some fruit." He said to the confused girl, not bothering to explain the aforementioned scowl. "Didn't know what she liked, so I decided to buy something I would eat in case she didn't wake up anytime soon. Feel free to help yourself. That's what I did on the way here."

Deciding to go with it for now, Yukari raised an eyebrow at his explanation. "You do realise that if you buy fruit for someone, you're not supposed to be the one who eats it?"

Sakuya coyly raised the other bag he had. "I bought enough for me to pick on as well. Besides, those two bags cost me twenty-six hundred Yen. I'd hate to see it go to waste. Not to mention there's no telling when she will wake up. So, live dangerously on me."

"I'll keep that in mind." Yukari replied.

Sakuya then looked at the clock above the door, then made his way to the exit. "Well, since she hasn't woken up, I'll leave you two in peace. Bye."

"Goodbye… Oh, wait a moment!" Yukari called, causing the young man to pause when he grabbed the door handle. The next few words were hard for her to say, but she managed to force them out. "Um, Sakuya… Thank you, for helping us that night. And for trying to cheer me up."

A few seconds later, Sakuya turned around with a smile on his face. "Think nothing of it."

He then exited the room, gently shutting the door behind him.

"…He does have a heart after all." Yukari smiled once more, her spirits lifted by that unusual encounter.

It made her think how cruel she had been in the way she perceived the blue-haired boy. Sure, she was confused when he decided to be a lot more friendly and helpful than usual, but to completely dismiss his capabilities as a nice person was a step too far. She even thought that his being friendly with Akane was merely an attempt to hit on her. But his actions over the past few days turned that perception completely on its head. Whatever his reasons for acting like a complete and utter jerk didn't mean he fell under that definition. So she silently made a promise to Akane that she would be nicer to Sakuya from this day onwards. And she decided to start by opening the bag to try out the fruit inside.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me." She complained out loud, appalled when she saw the contents.

It was the favourite food of the blue-haired boy, the mere mention of which unnerved Akane on her first day of school. Yukari never forgot the uncomfortably skittish look on her new friend's face whenever Sakuya mentioned it or when she recalled the time he hit on the now unconscious girl.

Cherries.

_"Well then, screw the promise. He's _still_ an asshole." _Yukari thought as her hands tightly clenched the bag in anger._ "Why did I even entertain the thought that he was a good person…?"_

* * *

Sakuya walked down the corridor of the hospital wing, an amused smile playing across his face as he imagined Yukari's reaction. Truth be told, he was actually being sincere in regards his gift to Akane, but not so much for the pink-clad school heart throb. He suspected that Yukari was one who picked up on the small details and would get angry if she remembered the first day of school. But he bought cherries anyway, telling himself that she'll get over it sooner or later. Besides, he could do with some cheering up in this situation.

**_"Y'know, there's a lot less blood and carnage in that room than I was expecting."_** The ghost of King Leo said with disappointment in his voice as he "walked" with Sakuya, perfectly summing up one of the reasons he needed cheering up. _**"The Sakuya I knew wouldn't pass up a golden opportunity like that. It was just you and the two girls, you have a switchblade in your pocket and could summon Seth at any time. It would've been easy to deal with the pink one and do whatever you wanted to the two defenceless beauties before killing them."**_

_"What's this?"_ Sakuya thought with mock surprise. _"Did I really hear _King Leo_ of all people advocating rape? Weren't you the one who said you'd take arson and murder over sex any day of the week?"_

The masked spectre shrugged. _**"Guilty as charged. But you're a growing lad. Don't tell me you don't need to satisfy your animal desires every once in a while…?"**_

_"Contrary to popular belief, humans aren't animals." _Sakuya argued. _"If we were, there would be no way we could build cities, organise as a nation, heck, even cave drawings, speaking or even _thinking_ the way we do would be a stretch. We'd just be savages looking out for our basic needs and nothing else…"_

**_"Enough with the freakin' ethics lecture, professor. You're giving me indigestion."_**

The blue-haired boy frowned in disbelief.

**_"Figuratively speaking, of course."_**

Leo then "stood" level with Sakuya, his eyes glaring towards the young man. _**"And you know what I'm implying, so drop the cheesy act. You've been ordered to kill the guys trying to reach the top of Tartarus. Our opponents are usually a bunch of Persona-users, and who are the only ones we know of in this city? That Seers-whatever group, of course!"**_ He then moved right in front of Sakuya, bending so their eyes met._** "So why did you tell me to shut up me back then when I prompted you to start a-killing?"**_

_"Because of a few very simple reasons, Mufasa."_ Sakuya said, coming to a standstill while the spectre growled at the nickname. _"First of all, the Kirijo group runs this hospital. They're going to keep anyone affiliated with Mitsuru under close scrutiny. Plus, they know that I'm… of an interesting disposition. All fingers will point to me if I _"start a-killing"_ and use Seth to eradicate the evidence."_

_**"So what?" **_King Leo barked in frustration. _**"That didn't stop you in the past! Sure as hell didn't stop me."**_

_"And that brings me onto my last point."_ He pulled a couple of cherries out of his bag and popped them in his mouth before continuing on his way._ "Iwatodai is too peaceful."_

The King tilted his head at that statement. _**"What kind of excuse is that?"**_

_"Have you forgotten? Sumaru City was practically a warzone by the time my service began. People dying left, right and centre because the New World Order tried to take over meant that one extra body on the pile didn't make that much difference until people look at the post-carnage reports." _He then stopped to spit the pips and throw the stalks of the cherries into a nearby refuse bin before continuing. _"But here? Apart from a few people losing their souls every now and again, there's nothing serious enough going on that will allow me to slip under the radar immediately after I kill someone."_

The annoyed spectre grumbled, his smoky form trembling in frustration. He was so worked up that he didn't realise he stopped moving until Sakuya walked right through him, casually continuing on his way.

_"So with no smokescreen, killing them now would be suicide. My skills and Seth's powers may be more than a match for SEES' Personas, but the Kirijo Group is a big organisation. It wouldn't surprise me if they had a few aces up their sleeves." _Sakuya came to a halt when he reached the reception lobby of the hospital, pretending to look through the magazine rack of the gift shop as he finished the conversation. _"To sum up, they'll get mad if I hurt Little Miss Kirijo and her friends, then throw everything plus the kitchen sink at me in response. I'd rather like to avoid that scenario… Oh?"_

His train of though was interrupted when he sensed the presence of a Persona-user nearby. Sakuya was no expert in examining the auras of others, but he could tell that the potential of the user was untapped. He could also tell from the intensity of the aura that the person to whom it belongs was close by. Right behind him, if he was not mistaken. Acting as casually as possible, he pulled out a copy of a gaming magazine and studied the cover, before slowly turning around as if he just noticed someone standing behind him.

The person in question was a girl around his age dressed in a Gekkoukan uniform with a pair of loafers, long white socks and a teal-green turtleneck beneath her uniform. She had brown eyes, unusual teal-blue hair, and a disturbed look on her face. Sakuya recognised her as a student in 2-E, the next class along from his. He didn't know her name, nor did he have any prior interactions with her, she was just someone in the background. But the way she was looking at Sakuya unnerved him…

No. From the angle she was looking from, her gaze was directed towards King Leo standing a few paces to the right of him.

_"A clairvoyant?"_ He thought, trying his best to keep his mind guarded. _"You'd better disappear for now King, just in case. Try not to act as though you know me."_

_"**I think it's a liiiiiittle too late for that."**_ King Leo replied. His voice was quieter and more direct, as if he were watching what he "said" as well.

"Can I help you?" Sakuya asked.

The girl jumped upon hearing his voice, she looked flustered as she shifted her focus. "Oh… no. It's just that I saw… Huh?"

Looking back around, she found that there was no trace of King. He had used the distraction to retreat back into Sakuya's subconscious and become inactive to avoid the girl's detection.

"That's strange, he's gone now."

"If you say so." Sakuya said with a polite smile, trying to mask his relief, not only for Leo's swift getaway, but because he didn't have to deal with that guy any more.

"Come on, Fūka." A stern gentleman called from further down the corridor, which made the girl jump once more. "You'll be late for your appointment!"

"Ah! Y-yes father!" She called back, before bashfully bowing to Sakuya. "P-please, excuse me!"

"By all means." Sakuya calmly replied with a wave of his hand.

Fūka practically sprinted down the corridor as she went to join her father, looking back towards Sakuya once before they went up the stairs. Likewise, Sakuya looked in her direction as he made his way to the exit, glancing out of the corner of his eye so she didn't see the brooding expression on his face. He was unnerved by the curveball that fate threw him. A potential Persona-user that can see into the psychic spectrum… He wasn't sure whether or not to be glad or discouraged.

Despite her early signs of power, there's no telling how much of the conversation she heard between him and King Leo. It could have been only a few words, maybe a sentence, or the whole darn conversation. But no matter what she heard, she would most likely try to make sense of it and explore her powers further. If she were able to eavesdrop on his and King Leo's exchanges, then his mission would lose its "confidential" prefix.

Whatever the case, he was going to keep an eye on Fūka from now on. He started to head back to the school, hoping that the faculty haven't taken down the classroom placements just yet. The schools he went to usually left it pinned to the notice board for the first week before taking it down. And today was a Saturday, meaning that this would be his last chance to catch an easy glimpse of her name. There was no way he would let anyone with that kind of power walk around unchecked.

Gekkoukan High was only a few minutes' walk from the hospital, and the traffic had died down from parents picking up their kids after the bell rang. He was by no means a slow walker, yet Sakuya knew he had to hurry lest he got caught up among those going to retrieve the ones who stayed behind for club activities. His detour to the shops before visiting Akane took him a bit further out of the way than usual, costing him a few minutes more.

He dodged and weaved the gaggle of late leavers from the school, catching a few confused looks as to why someone who always left around the time the bell rang would be speed walking back to school. Sakuya ignored them and kept forging his way along the streets, crossing the roads without using the pedestrian crossings whenever there was a long enough gap (something no law-abiding Japanese citizen would do) and made it through the front gates. He briskly strode back towards the main entrance, the afternoon sun gleaming off the clean glass façade. He wished he bought a pair of sunglasses with him, shiny white buildings and reflective surfaces on sunny days tend to be bad for your eyesight.

After striding into the lobby, not bothering to change his shoes for the short trip across the hall, he went straight to the notice board and found, to his disappointment, that someone had already taken down the class assignment sheet. He cursed himself for being too late, while making a mental note to break in to the faculty office to check the roster some time later. With nothing else to do, he made his way back outside with the last wave of leaving students, and would have been on his way to the train station had had not encountered a certain someone bringing her white motorbike out to return to her dorm.

"Shiomi." Mitsuru said, unimpressed by Sakuya's sudden appearance. "I thought I told you to head straight back to the dorm after visiting Arisato."

"I forgot something." He said plainly as he began to walk past, but was stopped by the elegant girl's outstretched hand.

"And what exactly did you forget?"

"To check the notice board for the upcoming events this year." He half-lied.

"I see." Mitsuru's expression showed that she didn't buy that story. After a short contemplation, she then lowered her hand and straddled her bike. "We'll talk about this some other time since it's getting late. Get on, I'll take you back to the dorm."

That last sentence made Sakuya, and all those around him, do a double take. They immediately stopped in confusion nearby as the equally confused blue-haired youth tried to make sense of what she said. "Come again…?"

"It will take too long for you to walk back now, so I'll give you a lift."

"But… you want me to go back with you."

"Yes."

"On your bike."

"Is that not obvious?"

"And hold onto you."

"Unless you wish to fall off."

"But… I thought that you were…"

Mitsuru shot an icy glare, shutting Sakuya up. It's true that she was still mad at Sakuya and didn't want to be reminded of their first encounter two days ago when her upper thigh was inadvertently probed by his fingers. Especially not with all the other students crowding around them. But her apparent revulsion to any physical contact with him and even the awkward exchange they just had would be enough to get the rumours circulating.

Mitsuru sighed, softening her gaze for the sake of her reputation as she gave an excuse for her offer. "I am merely offering to take you back home since I am here, and my bike can accommodate two people and our luggage combined. And may I add that I'm not used to people questioning my generosity."

Sakuya stayed his tongue as his willpower crumbled. Mitsuru's offer was more like a veiled order, though refusing would be as much trouble as accepting it. Other students would mob him either way with questions or with accusations, judging by the jealous looks from some of the boys and, strangely enough, that peculiar girl who hangs outside of 2-E after school. Seeing no way out of it, he decided to accept.

"…Got a spare helmet?" The other students gasped at that.

"I'm afraid not." She responded curtly "You will just have to be careful."

Sakuya stowed his schoolbag with Mitsuru's bags and then got on behind her as she started up the engine. He then gingerly put one hand around the rider's waist, gave a final awkward look towards the other students while mouthing "I totally didn't plan this", and then held on for dear life as Mitsuru gunned the engine and they sped out of the school gates. He could feel the dirty looks from the various onlookers bore into his back as they left.

Nevertheless, as he tried not to become into a red smear on the asphalt, he lamented once more that he didn't get the full name of the girl called Fūka. It would've made keeping track of and talking to her so much easier, given her apparently shy disposition. If her psychic skills turned out to be as good as he hoped for, then Sakuya would have someone to guide him through Tartarus.

Plus, he was secretly hoping that with her powers, she could give a third opinion about the dreams he and Akane had. Ghostly chaperones or no, he wanted to know what was going on inside his head.

* * *

"I heard you gave our guest a ride home." Akihiko said as he entered the control room. "Didn't think you were one to play taxi, Mitsuru."

The redhead glowered in Akihiko's direction. "I did not enjoy it, Akihiko. It was a necessity. Would you prefer it if I left him to roam free?"

"Of course not." The boxer held his hands up in a surrender pose. "That guy needs to be kept in check. I'm just saying that you surprised me."

"I surprised a lot of people today, Akihiko." She replied dismissively, turning her head back towards the papers in her hands.

The papers in question were the documents sent to her by Kei Nanjo, which finally came through today after all the red tape had been cleared. Mitsuru finished reading the section talking about the Persona Game and its newer iteration; the Master Persona Game. After reading these reports, she decided to stick to Evokers as they were easier to use and she had doubts regarding the validity of the games. Once she placed another finished page down on the table as she read through the stack, she finally came to the title page of a section labelled "Dark Blue Moon".

"That all their info about Sakuya?" Akihiko said as he sat down next to her to read.

"Seems like it." She said as she removed the title page and began reading the document with Akihiko.

To the right of profile at the top of the page were two photographs. The first showed a portrait photo of Sakuya when he was in middle school, his hair was shorter, his expression was kinder, and he was wearing a green uniform with a blue bow tie.

The second depicted a young boy with blue hair dressed in what appears to be a grey short-sleeved bodysuit designed for combat. The chest, pelvic area, thighs and knees were protected with light, conforming matte-black armour made from a material that resembled Kevlar, his shins and feet were covered with knee-length black boots made from the same material. His shoulders had no pads protecting them, probably to increase movement during combat. His arms were protected by elbow-length fingerless gauntlets. In his right hand was a machete made of lightweight materials and in his left was a 9mm handgun. An angular silver visor with a tinted red lens mostly obscured his face. But there was no denying that the person in both photographs were one and the same.

"It's him, alright." Akihiko confirmed.

"I suspected that he had combat experience, but not actual military training." Mitsuru voiced her opinions, before continuing to read the dossier.

_**NAME:** Sakuya Shiomi_

_**ALIAS:** Dark Blue Moon_

_**AGE:** 14 at first encounter, 17 at second._

_**DATE OF BIRTH:** April 29th 1992_

_**GENDER:** Male_

_**CLASSIFICATION:** Persona-User_

_**ARCANA:** The Moon [XVIII]_

_**CURRENT STATUS**: Alive. Missing as of the attack on **Seven Sisters High School** by forces of the **New World Order** (Henceforth referred to as **NWO**). No further incidents as of his last known enrolment at **Yasogami High**._

"New World Order? Weren't those the guys who staged a takeover back then…?" Akihiko mumbled before Mitsuru motioned him to be quiet and keep reading.

_Subject is a **Persona-user** of the **Moon Arcana**. **Persona** is **Seth**, Egyptian deity of the desert, storms and chaos. **Armed and highly dangerous**. **Behaviour unpredictable**. **Approach with caution**._

_Subject's identity was confirmed by a friend of the Shiomi family attending **Seven Sisters High **as a student. Sakuya Shiomi is a fourteen year-old boy orphaned by the death of his parents due to faulty structural and electrical integrity in their apartment in the **Aoba Ward** of **Sumaru City**. Left **mentally unstable** by the incident, though eyewitness accounts noted that he showed **early signs** of mental instability after playing **an occult game** in middle school. Subject **spread rumours** that he had been trained as **an experimental super soldier** by a **secretive organisation** in order to gain **weapons training **and** combat experience**._

"Wait," Akihiko said after reading the last sentence, "how on earth do rumours become reality? There was nothing in his file about being trained by the Order before that part."

"It was detailed in an earlier report." Mitsuru explained. "Apparently, if a rumour was spread and believed by the populace, then it became reality. Something happened to the city which caused this strange phenomenon."

"Reminds me of the Dark Hour." The boxer mused, earning a knowing smile from Mitsuru before they continued reading.

_Subject disappeared for some time before the **NWO** began spreading rumours about the **JOKER Curse** (See corresponding document for more information.) and began work as a lone operative. Subject successfully sabotaged and neutralised strategic targets in the city that allowed the **NWO** to further its goals and invade the city._

_Subject last seen participated on the attack on **Seven Sisters High** (Picture above provided by **Yukino Mayazumi**) where he turned against his own forces and aided the **St. Hermelin Persona-users**. The reasons he gave afterwards are that:_

_"[The _**NWO**_] is run by boring old fogies with telegraph poles rammed up their butts. Also, their soldiers looked too much like Hitler's Last Battalion. It was an honest mistake."_

Naturally, both Mitsuru and Akihiko were flabbergasted by that quote.

_Subject disappeared after helping to defend **Seven Sister High**, **abrasively dismissing** the people he aided due to **him not trusting them**. Gave his name as his alias of **Dark Blue Moon** before leaving. Subject's current location and status unknown from that point onward._

_**ADDENDUM:**_

_**Three years later**, Subject found by **Nanjo Group agents** as a student of **Yasogami High **in the rural town of **Inaba** . No further incidents regarding past as **Dark Blue Moon**. Subject is **initially distrusting**,** dismissive** and sometimes **antagonistic towards all new acquaintances**. A **violent personality** will only surface in **combat scenarios** (**EX.** Dealing with a group of delinquents angry at **Subject's involvement with the leader's girlfriend**)._

_**CONCLUSION:** Subject is to be considered **mentally unstable** and is to be treated with **extreme caution**. If **Dark Blue Moon** personality resurfaces, **approach at own risk**._

"Riveting read, isn't it?"

The senior members of SEES immediately pulled away from the document and whirled around to find Sakuya behind them, leaning against the back of the couch with his back turned towards them and his headphones on his ears. They were not only taken back by what they read, but his sudden, silent appearance as well. How could he have entered the control room without either of them knowing?

But as the two were stunned silent, Sakuya decided to speak up with amusement in his voice. "I, for one, am surprised that Nanjo-kun holds me in such high regard. Forging relationships takes a bit of time with me, and they often go a bit sour due to my efforts. And in response, he goes and labels me _"mentally unstable"_! Can you believe it?" Sakuya said, slowly turning his head towards them.

Before either of his dorm mates could form words from their open mouths, he closed his eyes, held up his right hand and said: "Shut up. You're not helping." Sakuya was directing that comment to an unseen fourth individual, but he craftily worded it so it could be applied to everyone else.

"H-how long have you been standing there?" Mitsuru shakily asked, not used to being caught off-guard like this.

"Ever since Akihiko snuggled up next to you."

The white-haired boxer growled at that comment, but decided not to say or do anything since he was unsure about interacting with Sakuya because of what the report said.

The subject of the document then stood up and made his way towards the door, then twirled around and leaning against it. "Don't worry. I won't bite. There's nothing for me to gain by attacking either of you, Yukari or Akane. I'm just a guy who can summon a god from his mind and exist in an hour when everyone turns into coffins."

"Do you expect us to believe that?" Mitsuru spoke up as she marched over towards him, glaring into his eyes. "And should we believe that you attacked Akihiko because you only just met him?" That your despicable behaviour towards all of us is because you don't trust us?"

"Wouldn't you be a little cautious about getting to know others if you saw two of your loved ones die right in front of you?" Sakuya asked with a mute gaze.

Mitsuru held her steely gaze, but did not speak again. She didn't have an answer for that.

"Don't worry though." The blue-haired one said with a warm smile. "Since you've been kind enough to accommodate me these last few days, I'll try to keep my behaviour in check. It's the least I can do." He then extended his left hand and opened the ajar door to his left with his fingertips. He then slid away from Mitsuru and walked away, closing the door gently behind him.

"…The hell was that?" Akihiko spoke up after a few seconds pause with a confused expression.

Mitsuru shook her head. "I'm not sure myself. He seems to be…"

"No, not that." The boxer interrupted. "I came in through the door to your left, and I closed it as I came in. How could he have opened the other door and walked in without us noticing?"

Mitsuru looked towards Akihiko, then the door as the realisation dawned upon her. They lived in this dorm for two years, they regularly came into this room and they know, by heart, all the various creaks and groans the building made as they moved around or opened the doors. So how on earth could he have snuck up on them so silently?

Sitting in the second floor lounge, Sakuya grinned as he imagined the confused looks of his seniors as they realised what he did. "There's a very good reason why I named myself _Dark Blue Moon_." He then looked behind him towards the ghostly Egyptian god bearing his claws. "You know this better than anyone, don't you, Seth?"

* * *

**Author's note**

I saw the new Persona 5 gameplay trailer while writing this chapter. Things may start to change because of the ideas it conjured up, in regards to how the story pans out and what happens in the battles. But don't worry, I haven't forgotten the direction this fanfic is going (Yet…).

Also, I originally named Chika Ueda as the one who photographed Sakuya, but since the guys in charge of the PlayStation store are a bunch of idiots who don't keep every game available at all times no matter the region, I am unable to play Eternal Punishment to find out if she stays in the Peace Diner during the NWO attack (She probably does, so it may be a good thing that I didn't name her).


	7. Free From Our Slumber

**Chapter 7 – Free From Our Slumber**

* * *

(I don't know about anyone else, but I HATE being unwell. I tried to write this chapter as best I could regardless of the loss in willpower, but my mind was so screwed up so the process took longer. Sorry for the long wait.)

* * *

Though the world continued to rotate as she slept, Akane was still fixed in one point in time; right after the battle against the Magician and the smaller shadows spawned from its corpse. Her mind was filled with relief after she managed to save Yukari and Sakuya from the monsters, glad that her ordeal for that night was over and that she could sleep. But there was also an underlying sense of confusion stemming from the two figures spawned from her mind. She didn't know what they were, and was even terrified at the prospect of the stronger being that ripped its way out of Orpheus. It was this confusion that led her back into the familiar blue room that she visited once before in her mind.

"It's so nice to see you again." The long-nosed man said upon Akane's realisation of where she was. His assistant previously mentioned was, once again, nowhere to be seen.

"Hello Igor." She greeted, still confused. "Why did I come here again?"

"You became unconscious the moment you awoke to your "power"." He explained, the grin on his face never wavering. "I see that it was Orpheus that heeded your calling. That power is called a Persona, it is the manifestation of your psyche."

"…Did I end up in a chapter of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure?"

A chuckle erupted due to that response. "You are not the first guest to draw that conclusion. I have familiarised myself with the fictional concept of Stands after that very encounter six years ago, and it is interesting how similar it is to the concept of Persona. But the main difference is that a Persona is a facet of your personality that surfaces as you react to external stimuli. It could be considered a mask of sorts, one that protects you in the face of various hardships."

Akane frowned slightly. "Still don't see the distinction."

Igor held his finger up as he got to the point. "When you use your Persona ability, you must channel your inner strength. The ability evolves as you develop your Social Links, your emotional ties with others. The stronger your Social Links become, the more powerful your Persona ability becomes. Please remember that."

"So let me get this straight…" Akane said as she thought. "Will Orpheus become more powerful or change his form and abilities if I have a strong enough friendship with someone?"

"That is one way of looking at it." Igor replied, tapping his fingertips together with a different smirk to his usual one showing. "I would love to discuss this subject in detail with you, but I am afraid that time is, once again, a luxury we do not possess. You need to move on from tonight's ordeal."

"Th-that's right!" The red-eyed girl exclaimed. "I need to know what happened to everyone!"

"Then I shall send you on your way posthaste. The next time you come here, it will be of your own accord. Until then, farewell…"

Once again, the room faded to black accompanied by the soft melody played by the unseen musicians of the room. Akane once again fell into the secure embrace of sleep as the music faded to silence.

* * *

For a while, she couldn't see or hear anything. But slowly and surely, the familiar sensation of drowsiness swept over her and she groaned, fought to subdue her eyelid's muscles and ordered them to open. She winced at the brightness of the room, slowly blinking as her eyes adjusted to the light. At first, she thought that she was lying down outside Gekkoukan High. The place was shiny and white like the exterior. But the sensation of warmth and a small amount of weight distributed across her body suggested that she was somewhere else. When her eyes decided to work once more, she found out that she was in a Hospital room and lying in a comfy bed.

"You're awake!" A familiar voice exclaimed next to her.

She turned to the left and came eye-to-eye with Yukari, who was wearing her casual outfit consisting of a pink tube dress with black crisscrossing laces along the side seams and a fur-lined collar, a black top under that, boots of a similar style and her ever-present heart-shaped choker around her neck. Her face lit up with surprise and relief upon seeing Akane awake again.

"Hey, Yukari…" She replied drowsily, glad that she knew that at least one person survived. "Sorry for giving you a scare like this."

"A _scare_!? You were out cold for ten days!"

"Ten days!?" She exclaimed, shocked about the amount of time she was out. She then sighed in resignation as she sat up, knowing there was nothing she could do about it. "The teachers must hate me for this. I'll probably have a mound of catch-up work to do."

Yukari shook her head, dismissing her anxiety and Akane's concerns with a smile. "Never mind that. I'm just glad you're okay. The doctors couldn't find anything wrong with you, they just said you were exhausted. I was so worried, sitting next to your bed day after day not knowing why you won't wake up."

Akane smiled back, glad that her friend was genuinely concerned for her wellbeing.

"Um…" Yukari then looked to one side sheepishly. "I'm sorry I couldn't do anything that night to help you… and Sakuya. I panicked, that being my first encounter with the Shadows, the things you fought. You wouldn't have had to go through this if I wasn't such a coward."

"I don't blame you." Yukari's head snapped back in surprise when she heard that, and found Akane looking at her with no trace of anger or resentment on her face.

"Seriously, I don't blame you for any of the things that happened last night… No, stupid, I mean ten days ago." She shook her head in shame as she corrected herself, before continuing. "Anyway… What I'm trying to say is that since I don't have a problem, you shouldn't have a problem."

"You think so too… eh?" Yukari said as her tense posture relaxed as anxiety about this moment dissolved. "Well, that's a load off my shoulders. Thanks, Akane. Not only for that, but for saving me then as well. Your power was amazing!"

"You mean my Persona?" Akane asked.

"Yes… How did you know what it was called?"

The auburn girl shrugged. "It was the first word that came into my head."

"Oh, right. I remember." Yukari said as she recalled what happened that night.

"But I think Sakuya outshone me with his."

"Yeah, his was more terrifying and brutal." Yukari agreed. "But the way you handled yours was just as good. Not bad for a first-timer."

"Oh, stop it you!" Akane feigned flattery, causing both girls to erupt into a giggling fit.

"Ah… A-anyway…" The girl in pink began as she recovered. "We'll explain all about this when you're out of hospital. Sorry for not telling you sooner." Her expression mellowed once more as she shakily moved on to a subject she wanted to share. "I, uh… wanted to tell you… I'm sorta like you."

The auburn girl looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"My dad died in an accident while I was little, back in '99." Yukari explained with an undertone of sadness, wringing her hands nervously as she continued. "My mom and I haven't exactly been on good terms ever since. Supposedly, he died in an explosion at the Kirijo Group laboratory he worked at, but nobody knows what happened… And that's why I'm going to Gekkoukan High and working with Mitsuru. I'm hoping to find out the reasons if I stick around long enough."

Akane felt sympathy for her friend, pouring her heart out like that. She didn't know what she was going through due to the differing circumstances and the fact they are two different people, but she had a good idea. "Why are you telling me this, Yukari?"

The girl in pink looked towards her friend with an equal measure of sympathy. "You're all alone too, right? To be honest… I already knew about your past. But it didn't seem fair to poke my nose in like that, so I wanted to tell you mine."

"I understand." Akane replied, before a coy expression played on her face. "But you could've at least waited until I've recovered completely before saying all this. Didn't I tell you that I was a patient girl?"

"I know, it's just… I felt so bad about keeping so many things from you that I resolved to let you know when you woke up. So thanks for listening. I've been wanting to share that story with someone for a long time."

"No problem. It feels good to know that you're not alone, especially after what we've been through."

"Thanks again, Akane." The now placate Yukari said with a smile, before standing up. "Well, I'd better not keep you from resting anymore. It's a good thing you woke up on a Sunday, so take your time getting better. And… Uh…" She then paused before gesturing to the ever-present brown paper bag on the bedside table in disgust. "…Sakuya bought some fruit in for you."

"That's kind of him. I didn't think he would…" Akane stopped mid-sentence when she opened the bag and looked inside. What she saw turned her entire demeanour from happiness to outrage. "Son of a…! A… female dog!"

"I'm sorry Akane. I tried to tell him it was a bad idea, but he didn't…"

"Someone's been eating all of the cherries, and there are only three left!" She then threw the bag down on her bed in anger, crossing her arms as she sulked.

"HUH!?" Yukari exclaimed in surprise. She expected that Akane was mad at Sakuya for buying her the one thing that reminded her of the uncomfortable comment he made on the first day of school, but was completely shocked when she found out she was mad that people had been eating the cherries before her.

And she wasn't going to let it go. "Don't people know that it's bad manners to help yourself to someone else's gift without permission? Who's been eating my food!?"

"I'm afraid that's my bad."

Both girls quickly turned towards the new voice. Standing by the next row of beds was Sakuya with his hands tucked in his casual outfit's pockets. He was wearing a pair of brown steel-toe-capped boots with white socks, black jeans, a white turtleneck sweater, a grey double-breasted jacket, his signature headphones draped over his neck and a pair of yellow tinted sunglasses tucked in his collar. He, once again, had a brown paper bag under his arm.

"Nobody knew _when_ you were going to wake up, Akane-chan. But you see, I don't wasting food. So I… told everyone to… ah… help themselves." He explained calmly, but looked at the glaring Akane the same way he looked at Mitsuru after she slapped him: like a man before a charging battle tank. He then very quickly (and gingerly) held out the new bag in front of him. "Besides, I just bought a fresh batch. I'll finish the old ones, you can have this, okay?"

There was a very heavy silence in the room. Yukari looked sheepishly at the scene of her friend glaring daggers at Sakuya, who looked like he was trying hard not to break down crying like a baby. She was at a loss of what to do to diffuse this situation. She didn't know that Akane could get so violent when it came to food since she, and all her fellow students, were still dealing with the surprising truth that the red-eyed girl could eat so much and stay slim thanks to her fast metabolism. It was a shock for everyone when Akane bought and devoured five trays of food from the cafeteria without skipping a beat. As for Sakuya… True, she was still suspicious of the guy after the subtle prank he pulled on her despite the situation, but she was also unnerved by what she read in the Nanjo documents. The line "mentally unstable" made it hard for her to deal with Sakuya. She was now more careful of what she said when in his presence to avoid pushing his berserk buttons, and was currently weighing her options on how to avoid a potentially ugly scene.

Thankfully for her, though, Akane suddenly began to smile happily at the sacrificial tribute offered to quell her bloodlust. "All right. I'll forgive you just this once."

Sakuya sighed in relief in sync with Yukari, before walking over to her, exchanging the bags and informing her that the refuse bin was to the left of her bed. Like a ravenous wolf, Akane tore the bag open and began to devour the cherries three at a time, spitting out the pips after she consumed the flesh. Both of her visitors exchanged an awkward look at how easily her mood could change in the blink of an eye, along with how quickly she was eating her way through the bag. They held this gaze for a few seconds more, until they heard a contented sigh signifying the end of the feeding frenzy.

"Those were some good cherries." Akane said, casually dropping the paper bag into the bin while patting her stomach.

"Uh… well… I'm glad you liked them!" Sakuya responded awkwardly. "It's good to see that you're alive and well after what happened that night."

"Same to you, Sakuya-kun." Akane replied, not seeming to notice his awkwardness. "I'm surprised you're still standing after what happened to you."

"I'm afraid you can't kill me that easily." The blue-haired boy shrugged playfully in return. "Same applies to you, it seems. Not bad for a first-time Persona-user, if I do say so myself."

To avoid the danger of being too pleased with herself from the praise she got from two different people, Akane coughed and changed the subject. "Are you a part of Yukari and Mitsuru's group too?"

Sakuya politely shook his head while Yukari was trying to hide her disgust at the thought of working with him. "'Fraid not, I've had mine for a couple of years now. I bumped into the others the day before school started and, uh… didn't leave a good impression."

"Aha!" Akane exclaimed with a snap of her fingers. "That explains the special treatment you get!"

_"Not a term I would use…"_ Yukari mentally muttered.

"Indeed." Sakuya nodded in affirmation, seemingly not noticing Yukari's displeasure. "But most of the animosity is out of the way now, so there's no need to worry."

_"_Most_!?" _The pink-clad girl thought sarcastically. _"I like his choice of words…"_

"Anyway… enough about me. Did you sleep well despite the circumstances?"

Yukari was alerted the moment Sakuya said that. He did mention before that he and Akane had similar nightmares, which seemed to worry the both of them if the footage from the dorm's cameras were anything to go by. It was also the main driving force behind his change of heart towards SEES. But she didn't understand why having the same dreams caused him to act like he did. For the sake of her curiosity, she decided to sit and listen for a bit longer.

Akane put both her hands on her lap, one on top of the other, and laced her fingers together. "I think so… I didn't have any more of those nightmares I mentioned earlier, if that was what you were talking about. There was this one weird dream, something different to the ones I had before. But other than that, nothing else."

"I see…" Sakuya said, gripping his chin with his right hand as he speculated. But then he decided to shrug it off after getting nowhere. "Ah, no matter. We'll figure it out another day." He then turned to Yukari. "Shouldn't we be going now?"

"Oh, right!" Yukari quickly agreed. "I was about to go when you came in, but don't you want to talk to her some more?"

Sakuya shook his head. "I'll follow your example and leave explanations for another day."

"Good idea." Akane agreed, before holding her hands up defensively. "Not that I'm ungrateful for your company, of course…"

The three of them shared a laugh at that, before Yukari and Sakuya waved their goodbyes and parted with the cheerful Akane, glad that her friends were alive and alright, that her burning questions about what happened after her blackout were answered, that she managed to get closer to Yukari, and that she got a nice snack out of it as well, courtesy of Sakuya. But there was still one conundrum her brain was wrestling with as she wearily laid back in her bed and slipped under the covers:

_"I'm bored. What exactly _is_ there to do when you're recovering in a hospital…?"_

* * *

Thankfully, Akane didn't have to stay for the entire day after the doctors alerted to her awakening did a few checks on her. Finding nothing else abnormal, they let her return to the dorm half an hour later and gave her the go-ahead to return to school the next day.

Just as she predicted, the teachers were not pleased about her long absence and gave her a humongous pile of catch-up work to do in her spare time, except for the ever-unpopular class literature teacher Mr Ekoda who kept her for a catch-up _lesson_ after school. Because of this, she got back to the dorm later than the others with sore fingers from all the writing she did, a sore brain from all the knowledge she had to absorb in the space of one school day, and a lot of despair at all the extra work that must be finished by the end of the week. But, being the positive thinker that she was, Akane didn't mind doing all this as she would undoubtedly improve her intelligence at the end of this. And in Japan, every extra number added to your IQ rating counts.

On an interesting side-note, she had noted from her return to the school's social scene that Sakuya's popularity had dropped during the period of time she was unconscious. Personally, she saw Sakuya as someone who, like her, knew the pain of loss and tried to cope with it as best as he could. While Akane listened to upbeat J-pop music and tried to fill her life with positive emotions to counter the black abyss within her soul, Sakuya listened, sang and danced to music from various genres and nationalities (which conjured up many disturbing images of him dressed up like Freddie Mercury), smiled whenever other people were present and acted as showy, extravagant and flirty, as possible. She understood the reasoning for this showy behaviour, which managed to attract many to the young man at first. He even had a stalking fan group at one point. But things began to go downhill after Akane was admitted to A&amp;E.

Apparently, he began to lose his touch and smiled a lot less than he did, plus his tried-and-tested meditative eating trick was making a mess of his uniform. That unsettled people at first, but what really got the public opinion groups divided was the time when Mitsuru took him back to the dorm on her motorcycle. He made it clear that he didn't plan for that, but that didn't stop people from feeling jealous or hopelessly out of their depth because of his time with _yet another_ of the school's popular girls. The new rumours cropping up about him stalking someone in 2-E weren't helping his image either. He managed to regain most of his marbles and mend a few bridges, but according to Junpei, people are still divided on what to think about him.

Letting out a sigh as she walked back to the dorm, Akane vowed to help her friend out the next chance she got. It was clear to her that Sakuya's mood swing was her fault, so she should help him fix his mess in return for saving her life that fateful night. But not right now. Mitsuru asked her and Yukari to meet up on the 4th floor lounge after she got back. Though no reason was given for the meeting, she guessed it was to discuss the crazy series of events that recently took place.

After dumping her school stuff in her room, Akane made her way up to the fourth floor, where she was ushered into the room by Yukari. Of all the things she expected a lounge to have, shelves chock full of files lining the walls accompanied by a vast computer bank, all surrounding a stylish table with plush chairs was far from the usual definition. Ikutsuki, the board chairman she met on her second day, was seated in the armchair at the head of the table. On the couch were Mitsuru and a white-haired athletic type wearing a red waistcoat and leather gloves with his uniform. She assumed that this was the other tenant mentioned in passing when she talked with Ikutsuki. And to Akane's left as she entered, sitting on the freeform seat closest to the door was Sakuya, who slouched with his hands in his pockets, but sat up and smiled as usual when he noticed the two junior girls enter.

"Ah! There you are." Ikutsuki exclaimed the moment they stepped in. "I'm glad that you're okay, Arisato-san. I wasn't sure what I'd do if anything happened to you. The reason I called you here is because I needed to talk with you."

_"Just as I thought."_ Akane mentally affirmed.

"Please," the chairman said with a wave of his hand, "have a seat."

The two girls sat down. Yukari, to nobody's surprise, sat on the seat near Ikutsuki, which just happened to be the furthest from Sakuya. Akane decided to split the difference and sit between them.

"Oh, and before we start…" Ikutsuki gestured to the white-haired youth sitting next to Mitsuru. "This is Akihiko. I believe I mentioned him before."

"How ya doin'?" Akihiko introduced himself with a polite smile.

"Hey there!" Akane replied enthusiastically with a kind smile and a wave.

After they exchanged hellos, Ikutsuki then got the conversation back on track with a question. "Okay, let me start by asking you this: Would you believe me if I said there were more than twenty-four hours in a day?"

"Yes."

Silence permeated the room as Akane's blunt answer surprised all those present. Everyone looked at her with a stunned expression, amazed that she would accept that an established concept in everyday life was completely wrong. Well, except for Sakuya, who chuckled heartily at everyone's reactions.

"Still got some of your childlike inquisitiveness, I see." He said to Akane after he finished laughing.

"To be honest, Sakuya-kun, I never take anything at face value." Akane replied.

"Does that include the night I warned you about the Shadow attacking?"

"W-well, almost always." Her face suddenly turned red at the memory of how that night started, but she quickly shook her head and moved on from that subject. "You see… I've learned through my life that some things are not always what they seem in regards to people and what I'm told, so I try to look at things with objectivity rather than accepting them outright. Plus, the nights I've experienced in this city with all the blood, coffins and dead electronics seemed like a completely different world. Or, more likely due to what Ikutsuki-san said, it was a completely different time."

Her shock now gone, Mitsuru chuckled in an amused manner. "Well done, I applaud your intuition." She then regained her formal composure before continuing to explain. "What you summarised is essentially the same conclusion we have drawn concerning what we call the Dark Hour, a hidden period of time between each day."

"People aren't aware of it," Ikutsuki returned to the conversation, "but the Dark Hour occurs every night at the stroke of midnight. It'll happen again tonight, and every night to come."

"Normal people don't notice it since they're busy sleeping in their coffins." Akihiko chimed in, before an amused grin formed as he continued explaining. "But that isn't what makes the Dark Hour so interesting. You remember those creatures, the Shadows? They only appear in the Dark Hour and attack anyone not in a coffin. It's our job to defeat them. Exiting, eh?"

"Akihiko!" Yelled Mitsuru as she stood up indignantly. "Why are you always like that? Did you forget that got hurt the other day?"

"Now, now, he does his work well." Ikutsuki interrupted.

Though she was still annoyed at her fellow student's reckless bravado, Mitsuru took her seat again while covertly glaring at Akihiko, who in turn looked away with an annoyed expression. Akane remarked that her upperclassmen's antics made them seem like an old married couple, though she didn't dare to say that out loud. Sakuya, however, was not so tact. He mimed playing a romantic tune on a violin at the scene unfolding before him while grinning smugly, but instantly dropped everything and assumed an emotionless stance the moment Mitsuru growled: "Stop that." It took all of Akane and Yukari's willpower to not burst out laughing.

"Long story short…" Ikutsuki picked up once again, showing incredible patience with the amount of interruptions he had to deal with. "We are the Specialised Extracurricular Execution Squad - SEES for short. On paper, we're classified as a school club. But in reality, this group is dedicated to defeating the Shadows. Mitsuru is the leader; I'm the club's advisor."

"A Shadow feeds on the mind of its prey; the victim becomes one of The Lost, a living corpse." Mitsuru continued, showing no signs of her aforementioned annoyance. "They're responsible for most of the incidents reported in the news, if not all of them."

"And since law enforcement is out of the equation, you guys fight against them using your Persona?" Akane asked, glancing towards Yukari as she remembered the conversation in the hospital.

"I'm glad that you're able to catch on quick." An impressed Ikutsuki commented. "Although rare, there are certain people who can experience the Dark Hour. Some of them can even awaken to the power of Persona and fight back against the Shadows. It is by far, our most effective method of defeating them."

"And that's why…" Mitsuru began, placing a silver briefcase on the table in front of Akane and opening it to reveal a red armband bearing the club's name in English letters, along with one of the silver handguns she had seen before. "We want you to join us. We've prepared an Evoker for your use. Please lend us your strength."

"Alright."

Once more, the room was stunned into silence with one word from Akane.

"…That was quick." Sakuya stated as he gave a quizzical look.

The red-eyed girl shrugged. "I've got this power, so I might as well use it to help people. I don't see any reason not to."

"I was afraid you'd say no. Welcome aboard, Akane!" Yukari beamed as she clapped her friend supportively on the shoulder.

And then all of a sudden, everything stopped.

There was no other way it could be described, but to Akane, everything abruptly came to a halt when the sound of glass cracking resounded through her mind. It was as though time itself had stood still. She couldn't move her body in any way, but she was completely aware of what was going on around her. All her surroundings blacked out, leaving only the frozen figures of the smiling members of SEES visible in the vast expanse. Though for some strange reason, Ikutsuki and Sakuya were nowhere to be seen. They faded to black along with everything else.

Then all of a sudden, Akane was aware of something blue materialising out of the blackness in front of her. It was a peculiar blue card, which then turned around to display an image of a man carelessly walking towards the edge of a cliff; the number zero was visible on the bottom of the illustration. A ghostly voice strongly resounded in her mind as she beheld this strange phenomenon:

_THOU ART I… AND I AM THOU…_

_THOU HAST ESTABLISHED A NEW BOND…_

_THOU SHALT BE BLESSED WHEN CREATING_

_PERSONAE OF THE FOOL ARCANA…_

Once the ghostly voice had finished its piece, the card rippled like water and disappeared, a sudden rushing sound and sensation reverberating throughout Akane's very being soon afterwards. The feelings invoked by it were pleasant; it felt like a part of Akane's being was made whole again. She became acutely aware of her Persona Orpheus, residing within her soul. It felt as though here affinity with him was stronger than before. Plus, a myriad of other presences could be felt within her being, as though many other Personae were trying to make themselves known.

_"So this is what Igor was talking about." _She summed up in her mind. _"I am not limited to just one Persona, I can summon stronger ones as I forge friendships with others… And, since I've got a craving for social interaction, this works out extremely well for me. I love this!"_

Her celebrations were cut short due to the slow fade of colour returning to the world. Happily for her, it was not instant. She would have time to compose herself once more for when time restarts, since she guessed that nobody else noticed this happening. And as she was so glad at the prospects of her powers, she wouldn't have to alter her behaviour much to match the mood of the others in the room. So when time resumed, she was able to reciprocate the positive feelings projected to her by her new team members.

"And now that this is sorted out…" Ikutsuki spoke up as he turned to Sakuya, confirming everyone's obliviousness to the Social Link notification. "We still have to decide what to do with you, Sakuya-san. It's been twelve days now. Have you made your decision?"

Sakuya turned to him with a mute expression taking over his face. "You mean, whether I stay your prisoner…"

"Prisoner?" Akane asked, before remembering the circumstances. "Oh, right."

He smiled at her for figuring it out before continuing. "Or… I join your little monster-slaying group and we all try our best to… Shall we say… forgive and forget our previous encounters?"

"Exactly." Akihiko said in a matter-of-fact tone. "After what happened when you were brought to us and when the dorm was attacked, there's no way we can let you run around unsupervised. You'll just end up dead, if your track record is anything to go by."

"Indeed." Agreed Mitsuru. "But, if you work with us, you can use your powers as much as you want and we'll be there to back you up. I realise that you have problems trusting people, given what happened to your parents. But I am sure we will be able to grow to trust each other as we work together to defeat the Shadows."

"But if you do," a serious Yukari chimed in, "you'll have to cut down on the jokes. Especially the ones aimed towards me. Got that?"

Sakuya said nothing, but he did get up from his seat and started pacing back-and-forth in front of everyone, his arms folded and his head lowered in thought. He walked along the width of the room six times before coming to a halt at the head of the table; right hand clutching his chin as he individually scanned the other occupants of the room. When his eyes met Akane's, she became aware of the nature of his probing gaze. He was studying everyone in detail to formulate his answer. After what seemed like an eternity of pondering, Sakuya sighed, scratched the back of his head and looked back to everyone with a defeated expression on his face.

"Ah, what the hell…" He muttered. "I see that there's only one option that will benefit me in this situation…"

Everyone's gaze began to soften as they heard those words. The members of SEES were glad that they could reign in the wildcard causing them so much trouble. Smiles began to form on everyone's faces, even Yukari's, at the sound of Sakuya giving in like that. Ikutsuki was the first to speak up. "I am pleased to hear that…"

"And that is to ignore both options and leave you in the dust." Sakuya finished, dropping the act and showing a stern face of defiance.

Every smile and the feelings of relief and gladness dropped with that bombshell. All that remained was confusion, disbelief and, for some, brewing feelings of frustration.

"What, did you expect me to say yes?" The blue-haired boy asked. "Sure, it sounds like a good deal, but I'm afraid the situation wouldn't change no matter which options I pick. You'd still be my jailers, and I'd still be your captive. Sorry, but I'm a lone wolf who values my freedom."

"Oh, for cryin' out…" Akihiko spat through clenched teeth as he stormed over to Sakuya and grabbed him viciously by the collar of his shirt with his good hand. "Didn't you hear the part where I said you'd die!? I don't care what you've been through in the past, but can't you see that you're throwing your life away by going alone?"

"I'm adaptable." Sakuya asked casually despite the constriction around his neck. "And need I remind you that I was a solo operative back then?"

"So what? That doesn't cut any ice with us…"

"Persona."

Akihiko ceased his lecture and froze up the moment Seth materialised behind Sakuya, who had stealthily placed his right hand against his face while they were talking. The Egyptian storm god then prepared to rake his talons in a backhand motion across Akihiko's face at a moment's notice. It took him a short while to realise that Sakuya was giving him a chance to back away, if the stern look and sly smile were any indication. With great reluctance and great care, he let go of the underclassman's shirt and backed away slowly, waving away the others preparing to jump to his assistance. When he was by the couch again, Sakuya nodded, dismissed Seth and pulled a switchblade knife out of his pocket, which he then proceeded to playfully twirl it around in his right hand while facing the stunned onlookers.

"As you can see, there's no need to worry about how I handle myself." He explained. "The night I took on that Shadow nest alone ended in relative failure because I wasn't as experienced with my limitations in the Dark Hour as I am now. Oh, and for the record, I would have won the fight against that big Shadow if I didn't show off." He then stopped playing with his knife and cracked his neck before continuing. "I've just been out of practice for a while now, that's all."

"T-that still doesn't inspire confidence." Mitsuru spoke shakily, unnerved by the calm way he held himself through that situation. "But never mind that, how did you get that knife into the dorm?"

"Oh, this?" Sakuya replied, holding up the knife casually between his thumb and index finger. "I keep one with me at all times. You never know when you need to stab something in the face at a moment's notice."

"That's awfully specific…" Yukari muttered under her breath.

"But we checked you and all of your stuff!" Akihiko spoke up again. "Apart from the sword and supply bag you had, there was nothing else in the things we got from your apartment!"

"Well, I'm not telling." Sakuya stopped playing with his knife, pointed it towards the computer bank and extended the matte-black single-edged blade with a hooked tip. The sudden appearance of sharp steel and the sound it made upon deployment made everyone jump. "Surely you must've noticed _something_ amiss when you were carefully watching my every move?"

"Wait, you've been spying on us!?" Akane exclaimed.

"I apologise, Arisato." Mitsuru replied to her with regret in her voice. "But it was necessary for us to be certain about your potential, and to keep Shiomi in check, of course."

"And in case you were wondering," Yukari chimed in, "there aren't any cameras in the bathrooms."

Though she still had objections, Akane decided to drop the subject for now. "…I don't like it, but I understand your reasoning."

"And another thing." The blue-haired boy said, getting everyone's attention as he sheathed and pocketed the knife before standing with both of his hands in his pockets. "I don't claim to be an expert, but after working for one back in Sumaru, I know a liar when I see one. _"Dedicated to defeating the Shadows"_? Don't make me laugh. None of you bar Akane are in this for altruistic reasons."

"That's not true!" Yukari shouted indignantly as she and everyone except Akane and Ikutsuki, who were both unsettled by this turn of events, rose to their feet in defiance.

"We're not lyin' about anything!" Akihiko chimed in.

"How dare you presume that we are merely taking advantage of this situation for our own benefits!" Mitsuru concluded with one of her many icy glares.

"Right, right, sorry. Let me rephrase that." Sakuya held up both of his hands apologetically. "You all have _"reasons"_ for doing this. Yukari-chan, for example," He turned to the school idol visibly showing her disgust at his use of honorifics, "is using this situation in order to find out more about her dear father's death."

"WHAT!?" She yelled in response. "When did you hear…!"

"To be honest…" Began the blue-haired boy as he tapped his left ear with his index finger once. "You already knew about my past. But it didn't seem fair for me to let you just poke your nose in like that, so I wanted to hear yours."

Yukari was shocked. She knew to expect some form of snarky retort from Sakuya, but not in the form of him taking and twisting the very words she said yesterday to justify eavesdropping. And she wasn't the only one.

"Sakuya…" Akane barely managed to say as she looked up at her fellow orphan in disbelief. "That was a low blow."

"I won't apologise." He said sternly while looking away. "Even if I did, it wouldn't be accepted anyway. And it's not like I can forget all the details that easily, either. So, how 'bout we call it quits before this gets too out of hand? I've already packed my stuff to go, I'll move out now so you won't have to deal with me anymore."

Mitsuru began to stride over to Sakuya, probably to remind him forcefully that he wasn't even going to be allowed the chance of escaping her grasp, but any words were cut off when he moved his right hand to his face one more time, fingertips hovering over the specific points they touched whenever he summoned Seth. He locked eyes with Mitsuru. He was _daring_ her to try and stop him. Though his expression was without emotion, his intense eyes conveyed the message clearly. In response, she stopped in her tracks and turned to the others in order to shake her head. There was nothing Mitsuru, or anyone else in the room could do to stand in his way.

All of the field operatives didn't bring their Evokers to the meeting in order to make the atmosphere friendlier for Akane. Their encounter the night before the start of the school year was startling enough for the young girl. That, and she thought that despite their clashes, Sakuya would actually put aside his differences and help them out. And now she was paying for that decision. Mitsuru contemplated going for the Evoker she presented to Akane or letting either Yukari or Akihiko grab it, but she decided against it. She knew how well he could fight and kill from the Nanjo documents and the recording of the night the Magician attacked. One sudden move from any of the other members would end in carnage.

Thankfully, though, Sakuya lowered his hand and wordlessly turned to the door, but stopped short of it. "Oh, one more thing." He said as he held up his right hand with his index finger raised and looked back to the Kirijo heiress. "I would prefer it if you did NOT put me under surveillance. I'd rather not drag anyone else into our mess. You understand me, right?"

Not waiting for an answer, Sakuya promptly strode out, muttering amusedly under his breath how this was the third time he left the lounge with all of the inhabitants at a loss for words. And indeed, there was barely a word uttered at the latest development of the meeting. Everyone was still stewing with their varying emotions: The three original members of SEES before today were wrestling with emotions like anger, frustration and hatred. Ikutsuki's mind was full of concern over this latest development, unsure how Sakuya would affect the outcome of this endeavour he and the students under his care set out to complete.

And last of all was Akane, who was thoroughly confused at the actions of her friend. All the things he had said and done right now contradicted all her prior assumptions of him. His reasons for turning down the request to join SEES, valid though they were, sounded more like an elaborately-woven lie to her. And then there was the nature of her dreams. Yukari informed her that finding out the meaning behind them was his motivation for helping out, but he didn't pursue the matter at all when he asked about her at the hospital, nor when he interacted with her at school. Both instances left the impression that he was hiding something that he did not wish to share, or rather; something that he could not share with anyone.

And that scared her.

* * *

**Author's note**

Anyone else think that Yukari's heart-to-heart in the game was all over the place? She kept on jumping between the subjects of being glad the protagonist was awake to being sorry for "last" night, talking about Personae and Shadows and her tragic past. Sure, she is an emotional girl who was scared that she might have gotten someone killed, but it was hard for me to keep up with the subjects discussed. So I decided to smarten it up for my fanfic, along with any of the other dialogue I came across.

Also, why the heck was everyone wearing school uniforms on a Sunday of all days? Made no sense in any of the game's versions.


	8. Learning The Basics

**Chapter 8 – Learning The Basics  
**

* * *

"Hi, how are you?"

Though that sudden introduction was quietly spoken, it was enough to rouse Akane from her slumber. Truth be told, she was not getting a good night's sleep after the events earlier that evening. All manner of thoughts were running around her head trying to figure out the meaning of Sakuya's refusal to join SEES. She, like Ikutsuki, was disappointed and saddened by his refusal, but on a more personal level for her as she had previously vowed to help him regain face at school.

Everyone else, on the other hand treated as an insult. Despite the bumpy start they had with the blue-haired Persona-user, they were willing to give him a go and attempt to better their relationships with him, only to get a face full of egg at the end. The three original members were outraged at the way he brushed off all attempts to reach out to him, plus how they were referred to as liars with ulterior motives. Yukari, in particular, was angered by his eavesdropping on a subject she only intended to share with Akane at Tatsumi Memorial Hospital. That invasion of privacy was a step too far for her, and she took it as a personal insult. It was needless to say that the next day of school would be an ugly experience.

Because of all those thought-provoking events, it was not easy for Akane to go to sleep. Heck, she only started to drop off the moment the Dark Hour hit. And that is why the speaker was able to rouse her from her sleep so easily. Expecting Sakuya to be standing in her bedroom once more, she braced herself for a shock before turning around.

But to her surprise, a young boy was standing where she expected the grey-eyed vagabond.

The boy, about ten years of age with short black-hair and two-tone blue and teal eyes, dressed in striped pyjamas reminiscent of a stereotypical prison uniform, was no stranger to Akane. She met him twice before, both instances were also in the Dark Hour. The first was when she made it to the dorm just before the first day of school. He was the one who handed her the Contract that, when she signed it, allowed her to access the Velvet Room and form Social Links with others. The second was on the night the dorm was attacked, where he encouraged her to pull the trigger on the Evoker and summon Orpheus. And now, it seemed he came around for a third visit.

"Hi." Akane replied wearily. "How did you get in here?"

"That's easy." The boy gave her a knowing smile. "I'm always with you, even when you don't notice me."

Akane tried (and failed) to hide her aversion to that statement. "Okay… That's, uh… useful to know."

The boy chuckled. His face then assumed a solemn expression as he got to the point. "I just remembered that the end is coming soon, and thought I should let you know."

"The end?"

"The end of everything."

"…Do you know anything else other than that?"

The boy shook his head. "I'm sorry, but no. That's all I remember."

Before she could ask any more, Akane almost yelped in surprise when, all of a sudden, he was closer to her than he was before. It was as though he teleported a few feet closer within a split-second. _"Is this boy's factory setting permanently on _"creepy"_?"_

"I see that you've awakened to your power." He casually changed the subject, his multicoloured eyes peering deeply into hers. "And what an unusual power it is. One that takes many different forms and appearances, yet is bound by none. It may prove to be your salvation… depending on where you end up. Even so, I expect you to honour your commitment, as per the contract."

_"Yep." _The red-eyed girl confirmed in her mind. _"He is stuck on the creepy setting."_

Once again, the boy teleported, he ended up at the foot of Akane's bed. This time she could see that his entire body quickly faded out whenever he moved, then fading back in where he wanted to appear next. The experience was a lot less jarring this time around since Akane was, understandably, more awake than she was a few seconds ago.

"Oh, and be careful about that blue-haired boy." He added, much to Akane's surprise. "I don't know the details, but I know he shares the same nightmares as you, seeing them from a different perspective. There's no telling how he would react when he finds out the truth behind those visions. It may be childish, but he might end up killing you when he finds out."

"Killing me…?" An eager Akane repeated, visibly disturbed by what the young boy said. "But… despite all he did up 'til now, I don't think he actually wants to harm anyone." She then rubbed her face with her hands while muttering; "What should I do?"

"That's up to you, but I'd stay away from him. I get an uneasy feeling from that boy. Something… familiar…" The boy's explanation trailed off, as if he were trying to remember why he knew such a feeling. Finding nothing, he shook his head and turned back to Akane with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry I can't tell you anymore. But I'll try to let you know if I figure something out. And don't worry; I'll be watching you. Even if you forget about me. Goodbye."

Though her head was still swimming with questions that needed answering, Akane decided to leave them be since she saw that the young boy genuinely couldn't do any more for her. She didn't know why, but she trusted what he said without question, as if she knew the boy for a long time and understood his feelings. So, with a smile of her own, she bade the boy in the striped pyjamas farewell, and he melted into the shadows once more.

With a sigh, Akane lay down on her bed once more and stared at the ceiling while her mind processed the new information it was given. At the time, she was glad that her friends had held back on the information while she was in hospital, but she regretted not learning more then. It would've evened up the information load she got in this one evening.

"Oh, I'm not going to get any sleep tonight, am I?" She groaned, before turning around and burying her face in her pillow. "I seriously hope I don't get another one of those dreams right now, or I'm gonna go crazy…"

Tempting fate like that may not have been a good idea, but thanks to the extra time granted by the Dark Hour, she was able to fall asleep at last. Her haunting dreams did not appear tonight.

But there was no guarantee that they wouldn't return at a later date.

* * *

For Yukari Takeba, the day that followed Akane's recruitment wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. Last night with Sakuya was a train wreck as far as everyone was concerned; his straight refusal to help along with the comments he made put him at the top of everyone's blacklist. Except for Akane, which was understandable because she didn't experience the events that first put the two parties at odds with each other, and Ikutsuki, who seemed to treat everything with a pinch of salt. How that guy could stay so calm no matter the situation was beyond the blonde-haired girl…

But as for their encounters with Sakuya at school the next day, just about nothing significant happened. When she got there, Yukari found a note from him taped to the front of her shoe locker. Akane had one as well, along with Mitsuru and Akihiko from what she found out later. The letter was, basically, the closest thing to an apology Sakuya made to the group. He wrote that he understood how they felt from the way he handled last night and promised to give them some space by staying out of their way for the rest of the day. And stay out of their way he did. Barring a few looks, the occasional a polite nod and one "hello", not once did the blue-haired rascal interact with the members of SEES. He didn't bat an eyelid when Mitsuru marched into 2-F to remind the girls to meet up at the longue when they got back, even after being met with scowls, glares and scrutinous looks from the three girls, he kept true to his word and didn't grieve them once. That didn't change Yukari's low opinion of him, but it did genuinely surprise her.

But on another note, there was an additional apology added as a postscript at the end of the letters addressed to the three girls only. The recent interactions he had with them made their respective admirers nervous. Also, it didn't help that some blabbermouth read the letters before them and let everyone else find out that Sakuya had been staying in the same dorm as them. It was understandable that people would be jealous of a cool, suave and eccentric guy like him interacting in a familiar manner with three of the school's popular girls on a day-to-day basis. But these people? They immediately jumped at the chance to make their feelings known when the letters were made known, and so all three of the girls had their shoe lockers filled to the brim with love letters. Sakuya would have shared the same fate as them, if he didn't tape a notice to his locker saying: "Sorry, not accepting ANY messages until midterms are over." That explained the few dejected girls Yukari saw around the school, who most likely had the same idea as the boys in regards to Sakuya. Still, even though he did apologise for the consequences of his actions, it didn't stop the SEES girls from feeling a little annoyed by the situation.

_"Ah well, guess it could've gone worse."_ Yukari thought as she made her way upstairs to the dorm's longue with Akane in tow.

"Hey, welcome back!" Akihiko greeted as the two girls entered.

"Hey there, senpai." Yukari replied plainly.

"Hi, Akihiko-senpai!" Akane cheerfully greeted.

Akihiko smiled slightly at Akane's response as he closed the door behind them. "There's someone I'd like you to meet."

When the girls turned around to meet whomever Akihiko was going to introduce, they found the person in question was hiding behind the door as they came in. Akane was somewhat startled to see him standing there, though pleasantly surprised nonetheless. Yukari, on the other hand, was staring at him in complete and utter disbelief. He was leaning casually against the wall with a cheesy grin on his face and one of his hands in his untidy uniform's pockets; the other one was straightening the blue baseball cap over his short, fuzzy hair.

"Wazzup, dudes?"

"Junpei-kun?" Akane asked calmly.

"JUNPEI!?" Yukari shouted as her fears were confirmed. "What are _YOU_ doing here?"

"I see you three have met before." Akihiko interjected, turning around to face the two girls. "Iori-kouhai is going to be staying with us in this dorm from now on."

"HE'S staying _HERE_!?" Echoed the girl in pink, still not pleased with the situation. "You've gotta be kidding me!"

The white-haired senior nodded, deciding to ignore Yukari's frustration. "I found him out on patrol last night. He has the potential, which he only awakened to recently. I told him about us and what we do, and he agreed to join."

"Seriously? YOU have the potential?"

Junpei looked to the side in mild embarrassment. "Yeah… He found me cryin' like a baby at the convenience store surrounded by pools of blood and a bunch o' coffins." He then looked back with a sheepish grin on his face. "I was confused and I don't remember that much, though I sure feel embarrassed by what I _do_ remember. But, all of that's supposed to happen the first time you awaken, right?"

Akane, who was secretly enjoying the dramatic way Yukari reacted to Junpei, quickly recomposed herself when she realised that the question was directed at her. "Eh, I'm afraid I can't say, Junpei-kun. I was perfectly fine the first time I experienced all this."

"Really?" Junpei looked somewhat dumbfounded by what he heard, before brushing it off with a wave of his hand. "Ah, well it happened to me, anyway. But seriously… I was surprised when I heard about you guys. Still, I'm glad I'm not the only one with this power; it could get kinda lonely, y'know. Bet you're stoked at me joining, right?"

"Huh!? Uh… sure." Yukari muttered. "Better you than him, anyway…"

"Hm? You say something, Yuka-tan?"

"Eh? Uh… no…" She replied unconvincingly, glancing Akane as if asking indirectly for her help in avoiding that topic.

Fortunately for her, Akane was attentive. Upon hearing a noise behind her, the red-eyed girl turned to see Mitsuru walking out of Ikutsuki's office at the back of the room. She greeted her quickly before Junpei could say anything else. "Oh, Mitsuru-senpai! You wanted to talk to us about something?"

"Indeed, Arisato." She replied. "I bought you all here because the Chairman has an announcement to make, so please take your seats, everyone."

Almost too quickly, Yukari moved to take her seat, quietly muttering her thanks as she went. Akane quietly muttered: "Later", to a confused Junpei, before deciding to sit between him and Yukari around the table. She wondered if this was going to be a trend, her acting as a buffer between her friend and people she dislikes. But she dismissed the notion once she saw the somewhat humorous sight of an upbeat Ikutsuki as he strode over to his seat with a spring in his step and a somewhat childishly gleeful look on his face. He was excited at what he was going to announce, and promptly made himself comfortable before gladly declaring his intentions aloud.

"Everyone, I'd like your undivided attention. For a long time, Mitsuru and Akihiko were the only Persona-users we had. But now our numbers have recently jumped to five. It could've been six, but that wasn't meant to be…" He muttered that last line under his breath, somewhat disappointed that they couldn't have done this sooner, but then promptly shook his head and got to the point with a smile. "Therefore, starting tonight at 12PM, I'd like to commence the exploration of Tartarus."

This news evoked varying reactions from the gathered members. Mitsuru, Akihiko and Yukari all knew of the existence of the hellish tower that spawns in the Dark Hour, and could only guess of the horrors that lay within the ever-changing labyrinth's walls. They knew this day would come sooner or later, yet that didn't stop the underlying sense of dread that lingered in their minds. The newest members, on the other hand…

"Tartarus…? What's that?" Junpei summed up. "Sounds like a toothpaste brand."

"You haven't seen it, Junpei?" Asked Yukari.

Akane glanced at the still-confused face of their new teammate, who naturally had no idea what she was talking about. _"Biiiiit of a stupid question, Yukari."_

"Well it's no surprise, given how it, like the Shadows, only appears in the Dark Hour." Ikutsuki clarified.

"Yeah," Akihiko added with a scratch of his head, "the two of us were looking the other way last night. But Tartarus is basically the Shadow's nest. A lot of the weaker ones spawn there, making it the perfect place for us to train."

"But senpai, what about your injury?" Yukari asked.

"Since Akihiko's ribcage hasn't mended itself yet, he'll only be coming as far as the entrance." Mitsuru answered for him, to which the boxer begrudgingly agreed.

"Ah, alright…"

"Re-lax!" Junpei eagerly affirmed. "I've got your backs."

"I'm not sure though…" An uneasy Yukari voiced her mind. "After seeing what happened to Sakuya after he went in…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Time out." The class clown gestured for a recap, not quite believing what he heard. "Sakuya? As in Sakuya Shiomi? _HE_ was a part of your group?"

"Not really." Answered Akihiko with a disgruntled look on his face. "He flat-out refused to join."

"WHAT!?" Junpei did not comprehend. "Why the hell would he turn down working with you guys, or the chance to live with the most popular dudes in school? Still, I s'pose it explains what he wrote in those letters…"

"So it WAS you!" Yukari bellowed, getting up from her seat and storming right up to Junpei's face as she blasted anger at him. "YOU read the letters and blurted it out to everyone!"

"H-hey, calm down, Yuka-tan." The uncomfortably nervous Junpei tried to explain in the face of her wrath. "I was just curious, y'know? It's rare to see a transfer student postin' notes this early in the school year, 'specially after what he's been up to recently…"

"But did you have to blurt it out to everyone you met!?" The girl in pink pointed accusingly for emphasis as she continued. "I couldn't even get my shoes out of my locker without tripping over all the letters stuffed in there!"

"Well… look on the bright side! So many people wanting you shows that you haven't grown _too_ ugly…"

"WHY YOU LITTLE…!"

"That's enough, you two." Mitsuru interjected strictly before any blood was shed. "We all have a busy night ahead of us, so we should take this chance to prepare ourselves."

Junpei breathed a sigh of relief as Yukari backed down and walked away…

"That being said, I would like a word with you about the same subject at a later date, Iori."

…only to instantly tense up once more when Mitsuru stated her intentions.

With that subject and the main one cleared, Ikutsuki cleared his throat. "Since I'm unable to summon a Persona, I'll be staying here. Though I do wish you the best of luck in your endeavours."

"Of course, Mr Chairman." Mitsuru affirmed. "We'll be careful."

With the meeting adjourned, the members of SEES went about their business until it would be time to move out. Junpei had to leave his luggage in the foyer of the dorm since it was too heavy to lug upstairs by himself, he didn't want to trouble the injured Akihiko by asking him to help carry it to his room, and because he wanted to make his reveal as the new member a surprise. Akane volunteered to help, much to his and Yukari's surprise. They didn't think she would be the type for manual labour. After moving Junpei's stuff up the stairs, though, she made it clear that she did it in order to talk to Junpei about the situation at SEES regarding Sakuya, and to make it known that, although she took it better than the others, she wasn't entirely pleased about the Love Letter incident. The way she made it known was by smiling and talking in a polite manner, with a threatening undertone in her voice before calmly walking away. Scared by her delivery and swift departure, Junpei made a mental note never to mess with Akane.

Mitsuru got her equipment together and loaded up her white bike parked in the alleyway outside. She went ahead of the others in order to save time transporting the equipment to the base of the hellish tower they were finally venturing into. After Junpei was done with his luggage, Akihiko took him to the equipment storage room in order to issue him his armband, Evoker and weapon. After much trial and error, the class clown settled on a two-handed broadsword, which he swung around like a baseball bat. Akihiko sighed in exasperation at Junpei's lack of technique, but then told himself that they were going to Tartarus in order to train, so it wouldn't be so bad.

As for Yukari, she had nothing better to do than wait and play with her cell phone. Her thoughts about entering a place she only viewed from afar and knew from hearsay courtesy of her two seniors did nothing to ease her apprehension of that place. Nor did the fact that Sakuya, someone who had actual combat experience and was better at using a Persona than any of the members of SEES, almost ended up dead just by entering there. Though this evening would only be a trial run, just thinking about what they may experience was terrifying for Yukari.

Who knows what terrible ordeals they would face within the ever-changing walls of Tartarus…?

* * *

"…I'm tellin' you, you're holding it wrong!" Junpei insisted.

"What are you talking about?" Akane asked. "I don't have any problems with the way I grasp it."

"Look, something this long needs to be handled with the tip upwards! You ain't gonna do much by grabbin' it the other way 'round."

Akane shrugged. "It worked well against the Shadows we met a few seconds ago."

"Who cares what those things think about it!?" The frustrated class clown kept insisting. "You're gonna to tire yourself out a lot faster by…"

_"Takeba… what exactly are those two talking about?"_ A confused, and somewhat flustered Mitsuru asked over the psychic link.

"Ugh, nothing important. Junpei has a problem with Akane holding her naginata upside-down and facing away from the enemy, instead of at the front with the blade up like most people would." Yukari replied in despair at the sheer amount of innuendos being thrown about.

_"Ah. I see…"_ Mitsuru said in relief as she regained her composure. _"Is there any impact on her performance because of her stance?"_

"Oh, not you too!" She complained under her breath, while her more audible response came through clenched teeth. "No Mitsuru-senpai, she can fight the Shadows without any problems at all."

Despite the risqué use of language, things have been going well for SEES. They made it to the entrance of Gekkoukan High just in time to see Tartarus ride the moment the Dark Hour fell. The group watched in awe, surprise and dread as their school suddenly extended upwards and outwards, growing to an immense height while various additions and strange screw-like structures grew out of the side like cancerous mutations. The process only lasted a minute, but that's all it took for the large, distorted tower to complete its "construction". SEES ventured in to the large, spacious first floor not long after a brief explanation by Mitsuru about the basic facts about the tower's appearance.

Inside, they talked about adventuring upstairs through the clock-shaped door. The two seniors stayed behind to work as support while the three underclassmen would explore the second floor only and fight the Shadows in order to get a feel for the environment. Akane was appointed as the field leader because of her power and her combat experience. Junpei, who eagerly wanted to be the leader, was not too pleased with that decision at first because Akane was a girl, but then quickly retracted that statement when he realised he was outnumbered as all three of the female members glared at him.

Before they ventured up, Akane saw a familiar blue door and walked up to it, using her Velvet Key to gain entry. Inside the familiar room, she was greeted by Igor who informed her that this was the time for her to use her powers, about the "faces of possibility" that appeared after each battle was won and, finally, to introduce his assistant. The door to Igor's left opened, and out stepped a tall man with blonde hair and yellow eyes wearing a blue elevator attendant's uniform. He introduced himself as Theodore, or Theo for short. After bidding the two farewell, Akane exited to find out that barely a millisecond had passed when she entered the room and no one else saw the door. Brushing of any concerns from her teammates, Akane took charge and led them upstairs to face the challenges beyond the threshold of the clock-like door.

And now, after dealing with the first group of Shadows they managed to encounter, we arrive back at the innuendo-laden argument Junpei and Akane are having, just after they defeated the last group of Shadows.

"But how're you gonna protect yourself if you keep it at that angle?" Continued Junpei, still confused at the field leader's reasoning.

"Like this." To demonstrate, Akane adopted her fighting pose, then swiftly twisted her body around and held up the naginata in front of her defensively. "See? A simple twist is all it takes."

"But wouldn't it save more time to…"

"AAAGH! Enough already, you two!" Shouted Yukari in anguish, causing both of them to stop in their tracks at her sudden outburst. "Can we _please_ save this debate for another time and search the rest of the damn floor!?"

"Right, sorry Yukari-chan." Akane immediately apologised before continuing down the corridor.

As Yukari followed suit, Junpei held his ground for a few seconds to give the last word on the debate. "You know I'm right!"

* * *

"How'd you think they're doing so far?" Akihiko asked as he leaned against the parked bike, trying to relieve the boredom that came with being unable to participate.

Mitsuru, crouched over her scanning equipment, turned her head so he could hear while keeping an eye on the device at the same time. "Not too bad. They seem to be handling themselves well, so far. None of the Shadows seem to pose any threat to them. Speaking of which, I don't detect any more than three extra groups of Shadows on the floor they are exploring."

"Heh, lucky them." The boxer chuckled. "It's not often we manage to catch a break like this."

"Indeed. I am glad that our underclassmen could start at a beginner's level. It should help them prepare for the various trials yet to come…"

**PING!**

Mitsuru's full attention snapped back to her scanner. That particular sound plays whenever a new presence is detected by her power and the system working in tandem. The colour of the light accompanying the sound was amber, a sign that the presence could not be identified by the machinery.

"Hold on…" She ordered over the psychic link to the field team. "I'm detecting a new presence on your floor."

_"Okay, Senpai."_ Replied Akane. _"Everyone, hold up a sec."_

Mitsuru's hands flew across the controls, trying to lock on to the signal she detected so the team would know what it was and, if it was a threat, where it would be coming from. But no matter what settings she used, she couldn't locate the source of the signal. Not wasting any time, she got her Evoker out of its holster, pressed it against her temple and pulled the trigger.

"Penthesilea!"

**BANG!**

The shards of glass flowed out of the "hole" made by the gunshot, blowing Mitsuru's hair about as they swirled around her, before finally coalescing into the form of a woman clad in conforming blue battle armour with a face-covering helmet, a gold crown atop her head, a rapier in her left hand and an ornate cinqueda in her right. Penthesilea, Mitsuru's Persona, twirled around once in the air before raising her cinqueda upwards, an action that boosted the power of the psychic scanning ability the leader of SEES possessed. With the extra power, Mitsuru conducted a more thorough scan of the second floor. And this time, she managed to detect it. The signal was faint, meaning that she couldn't discern _what_ the subject was, but she could tell that it was ahead of the field group, close to the staircase leading to the next floor.

And then, it vanished completely.

"What…?" Mitsuru couldn't believe what she was sensing. "How could it disappear just like that?"

_"Senpai?"_ A concerned Akane asked over the link. _"What's going on?"_

"Yeah, what gives, Mitsuru?" Akihiko echoed, who was now standing next to her. "Your power works best in Tartarus, how could you lose something just like that?"

After running the scan again and finding nothing, Mitsuru sighed and dismissed her Persona. She then answered both parties with an uneasy voice. "I detect nothing, it was probably an error on my equipment's part. But even so, I'd like you to keep your eyes open for anything strange as you continue."

_"Uh… sure. We'll keep our eyes peeled." _Yukari responded in Akane's stead.

"Alright then…" Focusing once again on the task of training the newest operatives, Mitsuru refocused her scan around the vicinity of the party in order to direct them. "The next group of Shadows hasn't detected you yet. Try to get the advantage with a surprise attack…"

* * *

Despite the paranoia fostered by the disappearing signal, nothing seemed to happen after the glitch was reported. They encountered the remaining Shadow groups, learned how to fight effectively as a team, learned about elemental properties, got the hang of navigating as a group and splitting up to cover more ground. Yukari and Junpei managed to summon their Personae for the first time and bonded with them enough to improve their base powers, while Akane learned the meaning behind the "faces of possibility" Igor mentioned: a chance to reap extra benefits from each battle. This session in Tartarus earned Akane two new Personae; Pixie and Apsaras, some pocket change and a glimpse of what else could be available to her next time.

After all their equipment was packed up (barring their weapons and Evokers in case of a surprise Shadow attack), they waited outside the gates of the school for the Dark Hour to end. The reasons for this were because; 1) they didn't know what would happen if someone stayed in Tartarus when it compressed back down to the Gekkoukan High building, and 2) it was needless to speak of the problems that would be caused if anyone passing by saw a group of students hanging outside the gates disappear within a split-second. When the Dark Hour ended, Mitsuru rode back to the dorm on her bike while the others took the monorail. And now, ten minutes after the Dark Hour ended, the group of four was wearily walking back to the dorm from the train station.

"Home's on the horizon, amigos!" Junpei perked up as he saw the dorm came into view. "Oh, I hear my comfy, comfy bed callin' for me…"

"Do you _have_ to be so melodramatic, Junpei?" Yukari replied, before yawning loudly. "Though I don't blame you, I feel like I can fall asleep the moment my head touches the pillow."

"Yeah, I hear ya, Yuka-tan…" The class clown's gaze then turned to Akane, who appeared to be more awake in comparison to him and Yukari as they practically dragged themselves back. "How come you're not so tired, Akane-chan?"

"Hm?" Akane pulled her left headphone off, filling the immediate vicinity with the hushed sounds of a J-pop track. "Oh, I slept before we left for the school. I usually just sleep through the Dark Hour, so I wanted to make up for the extra hour I usually get in bed."

"Heh, good to hear that you plan ahead." Akihiko chimed in. "You'll get used to fighting in the Dark Hour eventually, and the extra exercise will help you drop off afterwards, too."

Akane yawned. "Still, I bet I'll have bags under my eyes for a long time after today."

"Ugh, great. Permanent eye-shadow." Yukari groaned. "We'll end up lookin' like Junpei at this rate."

"H-hey, what're you talkin' about…!" Came the indignant response. "I always go to bed by ten at the latest!"

"Yeah. Ten in the _morning_."

"Oh come on! I can't help it if Mr Ekoda's teaching first period!"

Akane giggled at the exchange "Don't worry Yukari-chan, I'm sure we could get some makeup or some health cream to tone down our tired eyes."

"Or," added Akihiko, "you could follow Mitsuru's example and use a thin layer of eye-shadow to mask it."

"That's right!" The red-haired girl snapped her fingers. "Mitsuru-senpai's been at this for longer than us. We could ask her for fashion tips, or raid her makeup bag when she isn't looking."

"I… wouldn't recommend that last one." Akihiko warned.

"Speaking from experience, senpai?"

"Well I… Hey, wait just a minute…!"

Laughter erupted from the boxer's awkward response. The tired members' spirits were lifted by that small joke, giving them enough energy to make it to the front door of the dormitory. Looking away awkwardly, Akihiko cleared his throat and decided to brush off the humorous quip seeing as it was a long night and the juniors could do with some cheering up. He then turned to open the door for his underclassmen, but paused when he caught a glimpse of someone walking past them. Someone wearing a black school uniform, a pair of familiar blue steel-toe-capped boots, a familiar pair of grey headphones on his ears, carrying a familiar duffel bag and had an all-too familiar head of blue hair.

"Shiomi!" Exclaimed Akihiko, causing the young man to stop in his tracks and all eyes to turn towards the subject in question in surprise.

In response, Sakuya calmly paused his music player, took off his headphones and turned towards the group with a neutral look on his face. As he turned to face them, it became apparent that he was wearing a modified version of the Gekkoukan uniform. The school's badge was replaced with a blue crescent moon with a white outline; he was wearing a plain white crew neck t-shirt with a blue neckline in place of a dress shirt, and his usual grey belt was replaced with a brown leather web belt.

"Fancy bumping into you at this time of night." He said innocently.

"Don't give us that!" Spat Yukari, looking towards Sakuya with ire. "You've been following us, haven't you?"

He pointed down the street with his left hand. "In case you've forgotten, my apartment is but a few blocks away. I have to walk past here if I'm to make it to the monorail in time for school."

"That doesn't explain what you're doing out here at this time of night, though." Akihiko interjected.

"Same reason you were out. I was training at Tartarus."

"Wha…! So you WERE following us!" Yukari shouted accusingly.

"No no no, not at all." He said sincerely, holding up a hand as he explained. "I was being true to my word earlier and simply stayed out of your way."

"But… that's impossible! You couldn't have gone to Tartarus!" A confused Akihiko said. "We were there since the beginning of the Dark Hour and were outside until it ended. How did you manage to get in without us noticing?"

"Were you looking at the front door the entire time?"

Everyone held their tongues as they realised that none of them gave the entrance their full attention. They only looked up at the tower as it appeared, and amongst each other as Mitsuru and Akihiko gave the basic facts before unlocking the gate and stepping inside. And after the field group went upstairs, Mitsuru was busy with her equipment and even though Akihiko was supposed to be keeping a lookout, most of the time he was trying to find a way to relieve his boredom. There was a big enough window for him to run inside without being noticed by the others if he timed it right, and Akihiko suspected that he did because of the solo missions he reportedly went on back at Sumaru City, some of which would require a good knowledge of stealth to accomplish.

"Huh, got us there…" Junpei said before changing the subject. "But what I wanna know is, what the hell did ya do to your uniform? The teachers are gonna freak if they see that!"

"Oh, this?" Sakuya said a she gestured to his outfit. "It's a spare one I had modified. One thing I noticed about school uniforms in this country is that they're light, flexible and provide enough ventilation while keeping the chill at bay. Handy qualities when you're fighting in this cold place, building up heat whilst in combat. So I decided to follow your example and wear a uniform on my midnight outings. It's a good tactical choice, well done you lot."

"Actually…" Akane confessed. "We're only wearing our uniforms because Mitsuru-senpai said that the school requires all club attendees to wear their uniforms during club activities."

There was a long pause as Sakuya's smile faded and he looked at the group in disbelief, and then sighed while shaking his head before making his departure. "Ah, forget I said anything. I'm going home now. All this fighting takes its toll, even if it is my third hour in Tartarus…"

"Wait, your _third_ hour?" Akihiko exclaimed, causing the blue-haired one to stop mid-step. "You only went in twice, the first time was when you got bought to us and we kept you under surveillance for two weeks! How could you…"

Akihiko cut his rant short when a worrying thought struck him, something that he cursed himself for not seeing sooner. From what he heard from Mitsuru and Yukari, Sakuya somehow disappeared from his room to warn Akane of the impending Shadow attack on the dorm, despite being seen on the footage a few seconds ago. Sakuya admitted to being in Tartarus this night, and Mitsuru's equipment coincidentally developed a glitch. Putting two and two together, Akihiko came up with a troubling answer.

"…You caused the glitch on Mitsuru's scanner. You've been screwing with our equipment before you left the dorm."

Sakuya did nothing to affirm or disprove that accusation, despite the various looks that were boring their way through the back of his head. Instead, he did his signature three-fingered gesture of way of waving goodbye before walking away. "I'll see you later."

Akihiko cursed under his breath before dashing inside, the juniors following behind as they noticed him take off. Quick as his injuries would allow, he dashed up to the control room, bursting in and startling Mitsuru and Ikutsuki who were busy inspecting the partially dismantled scanner to try and find what the problem was.

"Akihiko!" Mitsuru exclaimed in surprise. "What's wro…?"

"We need to double-check the security footage." He said as he gasped for breath. "Right now!"

* * *

_**"****Aaaaand once again, you leave me clueless as to why ya didn't even attack them."**_ King Leo sighed as Sakuya made his way up the apartment block's stairs. _**"You could've easily offed them the moment the glitch was detected, but you just kept on climbing the damned tower. Come on, I thought your job was to kill those guys."**_

_"That's where you're wrong, King."_ Sakuya countered, causing the spectre to lean in closer for an intimidating glare (that was promptly ignored). _"In case you've forgotten, The Reaper said my job was to _"stand in their path"_. He didn't say a word about killing them."_

_**"****Don't pull that **_**"exact words"**_** trash on me. **_**BOY**_**."**_ He said with a jab of his finger for emphasis._** "You and I both know that the best way to stop someone from doing something is to kill them. All you've gotta do is slash their throats while their backs are turned."**_

Sakuya shook his head. _"I'm afraid the boss seems to have other plans for them. Because, if you were listening closely, ol' Quick-Draw McGraw also said that they were to die _after_ letting them wallow in despair for a bit. Sure, that would be the case if they found out the meaning behind Tartarus, whatever the heck that is. But it sounds to me that the boss wants them to suffer. If so, why not torment them now?"_

With a reluctant growl, King Leo stood up straight once more as he "walked" with Sakuya. _**"You've got one thing right, the big guy gets off on people's misery. But I wouldn't forget that this goes both ways if I were you, I have first-hand experience. All those voices in my brain… Ugh…" **_He shivered in revulsion. _**"Just get with the program next time, or you'll get something along the lines of that drinking game as further punishment."**_

Sakuya paused mid-step, turning slowly towards his ghostly chaperone. _"You mean to tell me that night of humiliation before I started high school was his doing?"_

_**"What, you didn't think those nightmares were the only thing you had to put up with, did you?" **_King Leo chuckled, before gradually fading back into Sakuya's subconsciousness with a final warning: _**"Don't come crying to me if you end up passed out in your boxers again!"**_

With a shiver of revulsion, Sakuya dug his apartment key out of his pocket before opening the door. _"Oh man,"_ he sighed,_ "I don't even want to _imagine_ what would happen if I get drunk around the age of 18."_

The apartment Sakuya rented was small and basic. On the other side of the front door was a short corridor with sliding-door wardrobe for shoes and coats, which lead into the main body of the apartment. On the immediate left from the entrance was a kitchenette with a bar-style table, on the right were the doors leading to the bathroom and twin bedroom, and directly ahead was the lounge of the flat, which had a couch against the right wall with a widescreen TV on the wall opposite and a small coffee table in-between. And it was on that couch where Sakuya's roommate was reading a book while reclining. The moment she heard the door close, she looked over her shoulder to greet Sakuya.

"Oh?" She said. "You're back sooner than I expected."

"You're up later than I expected." He countered as he substituted his shoes for his slippers. "I thought you started a new unit in your college class tomorrow. Shouldn't you get some sleep to prepare for that?"

His roommate swung around on the couch so she was facing Sakuya as she replied with the reason in question in her hands. "I would, but I was simply too engrossed in trying to figure out this romance novel I was reading. The narrative seems to be all over the place, and the main driving force in the relationship seems to be based on lust. It is unlike any other story that I've read before."

"That's because it's a bad story." Sakuya replied as he slung his duffel bag through the door into the bedroom before heading over to the kitchenette for a cup of water. "Sometimes amateur-written garbage slips through the net, so you have to be careful what you pick lest you end up with something bad. That goes for all books, no matter the genre."

"I see." His roommate replied. "I didn't know that they fished for novels before displaying them in book stores."

"…What!?" A confused Sakuya paused as he made for the twin bedroom, almost spilling his cup as he stopped. "No, no, they don't literally fish for novels, not unless there's a flood anyway. I was just using a figure of speech. What I meant was that sometime bad material makes it through to people who… Argh… never mind. I'm too tired, I'll explain it to you tomorrow."

"Very well, I'll go to bed myself later. There are still a few plot points that perplexes my train of thought."

Sakuya could've sworn that she said the word "fought" instead of "thought", but decided to let it go. The two words sounded similar enough, and trying to correct her would only confuse her further, in his experience. So with a nod, he said goodnight before stepped into the bedroom. "Sure thing. 'Night, Elizabeth."

"Good night to you too, Sakuya." The yellow-eyed young lady politely replied before swinging back around onto the couch as she turned her attention back to the book, a disturbingly perverse smile on her face. "Sleep well."

* * *

**Author's Note  
**

Sometimes I hate the way my brain works. Trying to write this chapter ended up with three, that's right, THREE different versions including this one. Getting bombarded with loads of ideas is the worst, but at least I've settled on Sakuya's Dark Hour outfit…

Anyhow, I'm glad I managed to get this out. Now I can focus on the more in-depth battle scenes starting next chapter.


End file.
